Maybach 57 and 62
by Sam Livingstone

The Maybach 57 and 62 (so named in reference to their lengths of 5.7 and 6.2 metres respectively) were shown in Paris for the first time together, the longer wheelbase 62 having been shown to journalists in New York in July.

The launch marks the return of the brand to the market after an absence of over 60 years. It has been resurrected to enable DaimlerChrysler to compete in the rarefied, fast growing, 'high-end luxury' market that is currently the preserve of only Rolls Royce and Bentley. This strategy recognises that the Mercedes Benz brand cannot successfully compete in this market as its sales continue to grow in more mainstream sectors, and that customers buying cars of this type need to have a truly exclusive brand.

Except for the 62 having an additional 440mm in its length added to the rear passenger compartment and affording the space for airline style reclining rear seats that the 57 does without, the 57 and 62 Maybachs have the same specification. And the specification is unprecedented.

Air suspended, it sits on 19 inch wheels and is powered by a 550bhp turbocharged 5.5 litre V12 which hauls this nearly 3 tonne car to 60mph in 5 seconds. But is the detailed specification that most impresses and is responsible for the car weighing a tonne more than an S-class.

Grand nappa and nubuk leather cover the seats, doors and IP and are available in 5 different colours, whilst 3 types of wood trim (Cherry, Amboyna and Burr Walnut) are available for over 100 separate elements within the interior, including the grab handles. In the 62 the two rear seats recline just as they do in a first class airline cabin, enabling passengers to reach a bottle of champagne from the fridge and pour into one of the silver flutes provided. Polished aluminium cup holders, fold out leather, wood and aluminium tables, 10 storage compartments in each rear door and roof mounted dials showing speed, temperature and time are a few of the other features that make this car so luxurious.

The design of the car is quite conservative, but this is an appropriate strategy because the target customers are typically fairly conservative, and because despite being a separate brand to Mercedes it is known to be a close relative and so need also serve as 'the next step up' from the S-class . Also, the ostentation of its only direct competitors leaves an opportunity to offer more discreet and subtle signifier of status. But because of this conservatism is does lack something. There are no truly new elements of luxury here, it has that international five star hotel quality of having everything you could need or want, but nothing that speaks to the emotions in the way that the Jaguar R Coupe shown at Frankfurt last year did.

The Maybach might at first seem unnecessary when an S-class offers so much. But the car genuinely offers a higher level of luxury, exclusivity and perfectly fits a niche in a growing market.

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