2010 Maybach Zeppelin: Irony in branding?

Faced with declining sales of its flagship brand, Daimler is rumored to be winding down operations at Maybach. Instead, Daimler (parent to both Maybach and Mercedes Benz) will focus on taking the current S-Class Mercedes upscale in both content and technology.

With increased content comes higher pricing, and in the case of the new S-Class it appears to be significantly higher pricing. Daimler, already concerned over declining profits in its Maybach division, fears the new S-Class will pirate sales away from struggling Maybach. The most profitable solution would be to close the storied luxury brand.

Source: Left Lane News

Rumors on the internet allege that P. Diddy presented his son with a brand new Maybach for his sixteenth birthday. The keys were handed over during a taping of MTV’s “Sweet Sixteen” reality series.

I had to buy my first car. With my own money, and nobody filmed it for posterity. Since P. Diddy’s son will probably wad the car in the near future anyway, look for a one owner, slightly used Maybach with a salvage title to appear on eBay by the end of the year.

Let’s hope P. Diddy included some seat time at a Skip Barber school for his son as well. Maybe I’m just jealous, but I’m thinking a 6,000 pound car that scoots to 60 in five seconds may be a bit much for a new driver to handle.

Come live vicariously through us as we, the most prestigious automotive blog in the world, grace the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with our stately presences. We’re sure to be the star attractions – forget the live unveiling of several never-before-seen new cars, and the endless rows of priceless works of automotive art sprawled out on the golf course greens like so many unobtanium sandtraps. Surely Jay Leno and the other celebrities will probably manage to jostle themselves into the photos of our expert appraisals of the class frontrunners, but we won’t be too upset. We’ll take a break from being the life of the Concours every so often to update you, our faithful readers. So check back often, and follow us at http://twitter.com/ridelust and in our Pebble Beach live coverage to catch all of the latest updates.

Dead for more than 50 years, the legendary Maybach Zeppelin is making its official comeback this week as it debuts live at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Underpinned by the present day Maybach 57 S and extended-wheelbase 62 S, the Maybach Zeppelin comes equipped with a 640-horsepower 6.0L V12 engine and a few “Zeppelin” engraved accoutrements designed to pay homage to the original Zeppelin of the 1930’s. Finished in Maybach’s traditional two-tone paint scheme, aside from the illuminated “Zeppelin” running boards and “Zeppelin” badging on the Double M hood ornament, the Maybach Zeppelin differs very little from current and previous generation Maybachs and still features an aesthetic design found only attractive by wealthy European businessmen and gangster rappers from Miami.

Full gallery and press release after the jump

2009 Maybach 62S Landaulet

Despite rumors that sales of the uber-luxury Maybach sedan have slowed to a death march, Daimler CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche has reassured rabid fans of the line [namely, Busta Ryhmes and Rick Ross] that Maybach is here to stay. Furthmore, Zetsche also maintains that despite reporting a sales total of only 146 Maybach’s in 2007, the line is not losing money. Impressively, Zetche and Damlier plan to put their money where their mouth is, cementing their devotion to the Maybach line with plans to introduce a new drop-top model, the Maybach 62S Landaulet. Priced at a conservative $1.35 million [approximately 2 platinum club bangers and/or 4 Lil' Wayne remixes], the new Landaulet will compete with the new offerings surfacing from fellow luxury brands like Bentley and Rolls Royce.

The Maybach Exelero is a one-off high-performance sports car designed and built by German luxury car manufacturer Maybach, and presented in May 2005 in Berlin, Germany. The Exelero is a chopped-down two-seater coupe with a bored out 5.9 liter V12 engine that puts out 700 hp and over 738lb ft of torque. Despite its 5,864 pounds, it can get up over 218mph and can go from 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds.

The car’s design was the result of a competition among students at the Pforzheim Polytechnic Department of Transport Design, which has worked on show vehicles for Fulda in the past. The design of 24-year-old Fredrik Burchhardt was chosen. That’s got to be pretty cool to have your student project design get made into an $8 million dollar car.

Check out the video:

I’m generally not a big fan of drifting. The race track is hallowed ground, not a silly slip and slide. I prefer high speed, but the guys at iMotor may be on to something.

The Maybach 62 S now as the fourth and latest variant of the model range of luxury limousine company Maybach. It is particularly suitable for being chauffeur driven and meets the highest standards with regard to space, comfort and dynamism.

With this perfect combination defines the Maybach 62 S which sets new standards at the top of the car industry and is also the tradition of the legendary Maybach limousines cater to the elite of the international limousine users.

For the ultimate in high-speed luxury BRABUS presents its record holding Maybach 57. BRABUS set the World Record at 205.2 mph for the Worlds Fastest and Most Exclusive Ultra-Luxury Sedan with their version of the Maybach 57. This record setting run bested their last record setting run in the Maybach 57 that reached 195 mph.

To push the luxury to that world class speed they supplanted their 6.3L SV12 S Biturbo Engine and its upgraded 730-hp beneath the Maybach bonnet. Thus as every business executive is want to do they can now be transported from meeting to meeting in race conditions and from the comfort of their own reclining custom leather seat. They can even throw-up (not literally, but maybe) their latest stock information on the 15 in. flat screen displays that rest comfortably in the headrests of the drivers and front passengers seats.