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Press Release: 

Stuttgart– The tradition-laden Maybach luxury brand is adding a fifth model to its line-up. The new Maybach Landaulet resurrects the legend of the classic luxury landaulets, a feature of which is that only the chauffeur’s area is closed. An extra-large folding roof opens up over the pampered rear-seat passengers when required, leaving no obstructions between them and the blue sky above. The Maybach Landaulet thus offers a majestic open-air experience currently unrivalled by any other automobile. Boasting a certain romantic quality and allowing its passengers the opportunity to savour a closeness to nature, this exceptional vehicle also features the ultimate in comfort and technological sophistication and as such sets the new standard for the world’s most exclusive luxury vehicles.

In November 2007, Maybach revived the aura of the grand carriages of days gone by with its Landaulet study. The response from the public to this masterpiece was overwhelming, so much so that Maybach decided to offer the hand-built Landaulet based exclusively on the customer’s own specifications. A limited number of vehicles will be built in the Manufaktur workshops in Sindelfingenover a restricted period. The finest materials are painstakingly handcrafted by select craftsmen to meet the customers’ exacting requirements - just as the discerning Maybach clientele would expect. According to the latest Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI), a survey of 531 U.S.millionaires recently voted Maybach the most prestigious luxury automobile brand.

Exclusive workplace for the chauffeur, exquisite luxury for passengers

The Maybach Landaulet is a masterpiece of automotive engineering and comes with its very own exciting yet distinguished, authentic style. While the chauffeur’s workplace is appointed with high-grade, smooth black leather and trim elements in glossy piano lacquer, the passengers in the rear with its optional contrasting colour scheme enjoy their place in the sun. They travel on opulent reclining seats upholstered in exquisite Grand Nappa leather in an environment of utmost luxury and exquisite style.

Large folding roof for a close-to experience of nature

In technical terms the Maybach Landaulet is based on the Maybach 62 S – which can claim to be the world’s most powerful series-produced chauffeured saloon. Maybach technicians have removed the rear roof module in order to afford passengers an unobstructed view of the sky above. The side walls have been invisibly reinforced with an integral tubular steel structure. As these measures have not altered the silhouette of the luxury saloon, the generously dimensioned doors and the complete interior with reclining seats remain unchanged.

When closed, the black soft-top of the Landaulet rests on the roof frame formed by the longitudinal roof arches and is wind- and weather-proof. When requested by the passengers, the chauffeur operates a switch in the centre console. Fully automatically, the electro-hydraulic system then opens the roof, thetop is folded and gently laid onto the parcel shelf in the rear, together with its integral rear windscreen made of safety glass.

The chauffeur is able to enclose the folded roof with a fine leather tonneau cover, which both conceals the roof mechanism from view and completes the overall picture of outstanding elegance. The tonneau cover comes in the same colour as the interior of the rear compartment, thereby ensuring consistent styling and creating a harmonious link with the exterior. A logo reading “Maybach Landaulet” in the colour specified by the customer is embroidered onto the cover, where it is visible to following traffic.

Designed specifically for open-top motoring

Maybach has adapted the luxurious rear compartment to the requirements of open-top motoring. For instance, the rear head restraints are slightly larger than on the saloon and effectively help reduce wind turbulence. Another slim wind deflector is automatically raised at speeds above 70 km/h to further reduce the risk of any uncomfortable draughts. The deflector, which measures around five centimetres, can be activated manually at any time. The switch is conveniently positioned for rear passengers in the centre console.

The intercom in the passenger compartment is fitted with an additional handset in the centre console, allowing passengers to communicate with the driver at any time while the roof is down.

Appointments to satisfy every desire

The new Maybach Landaulet is painted in Baltic Black or Nevada Silver in a sophisticated process that ensures the highest standards of quality. Clients can choose from three leather appointment options, and a choice of two trim element finishes – black piano lacquer combined with either carbon-fibre trim or fine anthracite poplar.

As testimony to its exceptional customer focus, Maybach also meets many customer special requirements at no extra charge. For instance, Landaulet clients can choose the individual appointments for their vehicle from the entire Maybach paint finish, leather and trim element range. An extra charge only applies to highly exclusive requirements such as special paint finishes based on the customer’s own specifications, select leather colours, trim elements in natural stone or the electro-transparent partition.

Visual highlights are provided by 20-inch aluminium wheels, also available as an option painted in the vehicle colour or burnished to a high sheen in a special finishing process.

Engine and suspension

The Maybach Landaulet is powered by an uprated V12 engine, developed for the Maybach 57 S and the Maybach 62 S. Thanks to twin turbochargers, the V12 engine develops 450 kW/612 hp from a displacement of 5980 cubic centimetres. Equipped with the AIRMATIC DC (Dual Control) electronically controlled air suspension system and the Adaptive Damping System (ADS II) the Landaulet model achieves an outstanding level of ride comfort whilst at the same time proving that even a prestigious automobile can display excellent agility and handling qualities.

First deliveries in autumn 2008

The Maybach Landaulet will cost EUR 900,000 (or US$ 1.35 million). The first customer vehicles are due to leave Maybach Manufaktur in autumn 2008.

Check out the original Landaulets after the break.
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The body of the landaulet harks back to the early days of automotive history. Just a few years after the invention of the automobile by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz in 1886 – working independently of each other – both companies had large numbers of landaulets on the roads. The Mercedes-Benz brand created in 1926 took up the idea, and over the years landaulets based on a range of model were built, both in normal production plants and by prestigious bodybuilders. The last landaulet variant available as a production car was the 600 model (W 100 series) from 1965 until 1981. The company’s in-house special vehicle manufacturing workshops also built three different landaulets for the Vatican in the second half of the 20th century.

Distinctive folding top

The landaulet is one of the true aristocrats among special body designs, and indeed its origins go back to the days of the coachbuilder’s art. Its hallmark is a “rigid, closed passenger compartment with a folding convertible top,” according to the Mercedes-Benz definition. What this means in practice is a folding convertible top over the rear seats, adjacent to a rigid top or solid partition. Depending on the variant, the driver might be out in the open, or – as is usual in today’s bodies of this type – in his own compartment, after the style of a limousine.

In any event, the choice between closed or open-top travel is only available to the passengers in the rear. The qualities of the landaulet as the perfect car for public figures are most evident when the opulent roof is swung back, focusing every eye on the occupants in the rear, and converting the landaulet into a stylish and elegant platform for public appearances. This is why vehicles with this unique body design are used almost exclusively by dignitaries and VIPs. And of course the roof can always be closed again, as protection from the weather or prying glances.

Maybach landaulet study

The Maybach landaulet study was created in response to requests from Maybach customers who still feel the thrill of landaulet vehicles from the days of sumptuously equipped coaches driving through the streets. The car is based on the Maybach 62 S. The C-pillars and roof arches remain in place when the top is pushed back, retaining the luxury limousine’s distinctive silhouette, along with the generously-dimensioned doors, stylish interior compartment and seating arrangements.

When the roof is closed, the convertible top is stretched over the roof frame, providing a tight seal against wind and weather. On the instruction to open the passenger compartment, the driver merely has to press a control on the center console, and the structure, together with the rear window, folds gently down onto the parcel shelf, without any significant loss of stowage space. The opening and closing of the convertible top is an efficient but unhurried process, like a smoothly choreographed dance, taking around 20 seconds to complete. The luggage compartment remains easily accessible even with the roof open. And the driver can cover the retracted top with a stylish leather tarpaulin, concealing the mechanism and restoring the smooth and elegant contours of the vehicle.

Historical Maybach landaulets

In the 1930s there were landaulet versions of several Maybach luxury limousines. In line with normal practice at the time, the body fitted to the chassis could be designed according to the owner’s individual requirements. The most popular models with landaulet customers were the twelve-cylinder Maybach 12, Maybach Zeppelin DS7 and Maybach Zeppelin DS8. The combination of letters and numerals used for the Zeppelin models stood for the V12 engine (double-six, = DS) and the displacement. The Zeppelin DS7, built in 1930 and 1931, had a 150 hp (110 kW) engine with displacement of 6922 cubic centimeters, while its successor, produced from 1931 to 1939, generated 200 hp (147 kW) from a 7922 cubic centimeter engine.

Nor was the circle of Maybach landaulet aficionados restricted to statesmen and captains of industry. There were others for whom maintaining a high public profile was a business necessity, and an automobile that could put its occupants on show like jewels in a display case simply by folding the roof back was clearly ideal for the purpose. For example, in 1930 the Sembach-Krone family commissioned the Erdmann & Rossi bodybuilders’ firm to build a Zeppelin DS7, specifying a burgundy-colored landaulet body, as a management vehicle for the legendary Krone circus. This elegant car with its long folding top is now on show at the Sinsheim Auto and Technology Museum.

Also featured in the Sinsheim collection is a 1938 landaulet version of the Zeppelin DS8 with a top speed of 160 km/h. This body, with a short folding top, was made by Hermann Spohn in Ravensburg. Spohn was the regular bodybuilder for Maybach, located just twenty kilometers away in Friedrichshafen.

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Large folding roof for passengers in the rear

In technical terms the Landaulet study is based on the Maybach 62 S – which can claim to be the world’s most powerful series-produced chauffeured saloon. Maybach technicians have removed the rear roof module in order to afford passengers an unobstructed view of the sky above. The side walls remain, and have merely been invisibly reinforced with an integral tubular steel structure. As these measures have not altered the silhouette of the luxury saloon, the generously dimensioned doors and the complete interior with its reclining seats remain unchanged.

When closed the black soft-top of the Landaulet rests on the frame formed by the roof bows, and is wind and weather-proof. When requested by the passengers, the chauffeur operates a switch in the centre console. The roof then opens electro-hydraulically and is gently deposited on the parcel shelf in the rear, together with its integral rear window of single-layer safety glass. Opening and closing the roof takes 16 seconds. The chauffeur is able to enclose the folded roof with a fitted leather cover, which both conceals the roof mechanism from view and completes the overall picture of outstanding elegance.

White paintwork and wheels

This impression is accentuated by the shining white paintwork of the study, an exclusive finish named antigua white. Visual highlights are provided by 20-inch wheels specially designed for the Landaulet study. These are also painted in white with high-sheen spokes, and are accompanied by white indicators in the front and rear light clusters in dark red.

Black for the chauffeur, white for the passengers

In addition, the already luxurious driver’s compartment of the successful Maybach 62 S has been enhanced in a number of important respects. All the interior trim is now surfaced in black piano lacquer, and for the extensive leather appointments Maybach has used particularly exclusive, glossy stromboli black leather.

In contrast Maybach has fitted the passenger compartment almost completely in exquisite seychelleswhite leather. The footwell and roof liner of this high-end luxury landaulet are also in white – the floor is carpeted in white velour and the roof lined with white fabric. A dramatic contrast is provided by inserts and decorative trim in glossy, black piano lacquer or exclusive black granite with numerous gold inclusions.

Generous spaciousness and first-class comfort

Outstanding comfort is assured by the generous spaciousness of the rear, which the Landaulet study has adopted unchanged from the Maybach 62. Passengers are welcomed into the interior by two large, single seats. These elegant seats also allow even very tall passengers to enjoy a reclining position which travellers normally only encounter in the first-class armchairs of modern passenger jets.

The study is designed as a chauffeured vehicle and features a partition. The upper section of the partition is a glass panel which the passengers can render opaque at the touch of a button, thanks to a liquid crystal membrane embedded in the glass.
Two ultra-modern automatic climate control systems, whose parameters have been adapted to the Landaulet study, ensure that open-air travel remains a pleasure even under adverse climatic conditions.

State-of-the-art entertainment and communications

As in the Maybach 62 S, the rear console is the centrepiece for entertainment, communications and travelling pleasure. This is where Maybach engineers have grouped everything relating to the entertainment and pleasure of the rear-seat passengers: a DVD-player, six CD-changer, a cooler compartment with its own electric compressor and an intelligent system which holds glasses, goblets and champagne bottles safely in position.

Engine and suspension

The Maybach Landaulet study is powered by the uprated V12 engine which Maybach engineers have developed further for the Maybach 57 S and Maybach 62 S together with the specialists at Mercedes-AMG. Thanks to twin turbochargers and water intercooling, the V12 develops a maximum output of 450 kW/612 hp from a displacement of 5980 cubic centimetres. This is continuously available between 4800 and 5100 rpm, and the engine also delivers an impressive maximum torque of 1000 newton metres between 2000 and 4000 rpm.

The electronically controlled air suspension AIRMATIC DC (Dual Control) and the Adaptive Damping System (ADS II) endow the Landaulet with outstanding levels of ride comfort, at the same time demonstrating that even a prestigious vehicle such as this can exhibit extraordinary agility and dynamic performance.

In addition to large, internally ventilated brake discs – with twin callipers at the front – both the study and the Maybach 62 S are equipped with two electro-hydraulic Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC™) braking systems working in tandem. Together with ESP®, ASR, ABS and Brake Assist, this provides the Landaulet study with the very latest in effective, high-tech handling control systems.

Innovative technology from the sister-brand Mercedes-Benz

Like all Maybach saloons, the Landaulet also benefits from the unrivalled experience of the sister-brand Mercedes-Benz in the development and production of high-quality cars in the luxury segment. Important innovations from Mercedes-Benz, successfully developed further for the Maybach saloons, are standard equipment in every Maybach and are of course also on board the Landaulet study – examples include the electronically controlled air suspension AIRMATIC DC (Dual Control), LINGUATRONIC voice control and the control and display system COMAND APS.

Learn more about the Maybach cars and its history

Powerful twelve-cylinder engine
Maybach 57 S
Maybach 62 S
Center of Excellence and Manufaktur
History
Technical data

View more images and read about Maybach at the IAA after the break

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Aesthetics and elegance

Aesthetics, perfectionism and appealing elegance ‑ these are the principles which Maybach applies both to the exterior and internal design of these high-end saloons. Top-grade materials, including 100 masterfully designed and hand-crafted fine wood trim elements, adorn the interior of the car as standard. Indeed, the Maybach’s interior design was inspired by one aim in particular: to provide the greatest possible comfort for all the car’s occupants. A harmonious interplay of shape, colour and materials lends the Maybach models an unmistakable identity and stresses their aura of effortless superiority.

The Maybach luxury brand also offers customers unique ways in which to equip their top-class cars. The Manufaktur in is able to meet almost any special customer requirement, repeatedly coming up with new, superb materials and paint colours - many of them specially developed for Maybach and not available from any other vehicle maker.

Unique ALU-BEAM paintwork with its own special sheen and intense lustre

These include the unique ALU-BEAM silver paint colour being premiered by Maybach at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It covers the bodywork like a skin, causing it to gleam like molten metal. With its intense lustre it gives especially powerful emphasis to the exciting lines of these luxury saloons, adding yet more life to them by reflecting the light in a particular way. This is made possible by pigment particles only 30 to 50 nanometres in size, which merge even more smoothly into the surface of the paint. Light is therefore reflected even more intensely and the overall lustre is enhanced further. By comparison, the pigment particles in a conventional metallic paint are between 100 and 300 nanometres in size.

This truly lustrous appearance is further underscored by new, “trowalised” wheels - based on the standard-fit sporty 20-inch wheels on the Maybach 57 S and Maybach 62 S which are further refined in a sophisticated surface treatment process by which the wheels are additionally polished in a large drum containing pyramid and cone-shaped pieces of glass. A similar process is used by the manufacturers of high-quality silver cutlery to give their spoons, knives and forks an inimitable sheen. In this way the new optional Maybach wheels acquire a particularly attractive, gleaming finish – gentle and yet still highly lustrous. They look as if they are made of polished stainless steel.

High-gloss leather provides additional highlights

A further highlight has been developed by Maybach for the centre panels of the seats and door linings – the deep black, high-sheen stromboli black leather as an exclusive complement to the already comprehensive range of other exclusive and select materials used in the Maybach. In the Maybach 57 S this feature imparts the same deep black to the leather appointments as the piano lacquer, thereby giving the interior a look which is both exciting and harmonious at the same time.

To achieve this exceptional gloss, the leather specialists at the Maybach Manufaktur took the existing nappa/semi-aniline leather and refined it further in an additional processing stage. This consists of “ironing” it to make the surface even smoother and shinier, at the same time making it appear “blacker”, especially in contrast with the way the light plays on it. To enhance this effect even more, the leather is given diamond-shaped quilting with silver-grey seams, “quoting” the structure of the carbon-fibre elements inside the car and at the same time providing fascinating light effects due to the bulges in the quilted leather.

Maybach meets even the most unusual requirements

In developing new, unusual paints and materials Maybach is continuing a long tradition. In the 1920s and 1930s the luxury brand, together with Mercedes-Benz, already represented the pinnacle of German and international automotive engineering. Then as now, select materials were stylishly and painstakingly hand-crafted to as to meet the requirements of customers who were looking for something very special. Today, too, the Maybach Manufaktur is constantly expanding its official range of optional and customised equipment, one of the main sources of inspiration being the continuous dialogue with Maybach customers which keeps the brand fully up to date with the emerging new needs and wishes of this, the most exclusive group among car buyers.

One of the consequences of the Maybach policy of intensive contact with customers is that the high-end luxury saloons can now be equipped with an optional compass which is fitted in the centre console ahead of the rear seats. Developed specially for Maybach, it is based on the same highly precise GPS technology as the satellite navigation system. An elegantly designed compass face indicates the direction of two different destinations to the rear passengers – one destination is variable, the other fixed. By way of example, the needle can be set to always point towards , thus allowing those of Islamic faith to choose the correct praying position regardless of where they are in the world. In the variable mode, the needle can indicate the direction of the owner’s house or the vehicle’s final destination; once this point has been reached, the high-tech compass indicates this by rotating its face.

Coats of arms and monograms: personalised perfection

It goes without saying that Maybach also offers its highly discerning customers plenty of scope to give their high-end luxury saloons an even more exclusive interior. For example, the Maybach Manufaktur can implement owners’ requests for their vehicles to be adorned with their monograms and family coats of arms in many different ways – embroidered on the head restraints, printed in gold and silver on piano lacquer using an exclusive silk-screen process, or laser-etched on cushions, to mention just three examples. Customers – and not just those who are car enthusiasts or collectors of historic Maybach saloons – also have the option of having the Maybach double “M” embossed in the leather of the door panels as a sign of their special attachment to the brand. Of course, they can also choose to have their own monogram or coat of arms embossed instead.

Out-of-the-ordinary materials: gold instead of chrome, granite instead of wood

In response to customer requests, the interior appointments specialists at the luxury brand have also created a Maybach 57 which takes another approach to the use of gold: all chrome trim parts in the vehicle interior are gold-plated with a wafer-thin layer of genuine 24-carat gold. The gleam of the gold adds a heightened touch of refinement to the interior of the Maybach saloon, and harmonises perfectly with the high-quality wood and the Maybach leather used for the study.

The keys for the luxurious Maybach saloons are also available in gold.

Customers seeking a somewhat less gleaming – but still extremely exclusive – interior for their Maybach can fall back on a material whose character evokes a sense of eternity. Instead of working with fine woods, the interior appointments specialists at the Manufaktur in can offer these customers trim elements crafted from naturally occurring granite. Formed using a highly sophisticated process, these impressive stone panels not only make a stunning visual statement, but also perform optimally with regard to safety considerations.

Tailor-made Business Package

A special Business Package for laptop users has been available as an ex-factory option for some time now. This innovative Maybach mobile office system, which includes mobile internet access and a printer, can be put together individually, following consultation with the customer. Wireless Bluetooth technology allows the customer’s own laptop to be integrated on board. For work purposes, the computer can be placed on one of the fold-down tables between the rear seats, and when not in use, it can be stowed away in a multifunction compartment on the back of the seats.

Diversity from the ground up: nine different bodies to choose from

The large scope for individualisation of the Maybach starts right with the bodies of the Maybach 62 and 62 S, plus the Maybach 57 and 57 S. Where the roof is concerned, the customer can choose between the fully closed version, a solar roof and a sliding roof – both positioned either at the front, as usual, or alternatively at the rear. There is also the option of an electrotransparent panoramic glass roof. This means that Maybach customers can choose from no less than nine different body variants when specifying their own personal dream saloon.
The model designations are a reference to the impressive lengths of these unique vehicles: the Maybach 62 and 62 S flagship models measure 6.17 metres while the Maybach 57 and 57 S are 5.73 metres long.

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The result is a new dimension in travelling comfort, especially for the passengers in the generously proportioned rear compartment of the new high-end luxury saloon. Not to mention a prodigious power output thanks to the enhanced potency of the twelve-cylinder engine developing 450 kW/612 hp, making the new 62 S model the world’s most powerful chauffeur-driven saloon in series production.

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