Maybach custom cars: A journey through

the ages

Way back in 1909, Wilhelm Maybach and his son, Karl, founded the Maybach Motorenbau GmBH in Stuggart,

Germany, which at that time began creating special edition petrol engines for rail cars. It later progressed to

luxury cars, after the company gained prominence and designing expertise till 1940. Much later in 1997, the car

making brand was re-established under the joint ownership with Daimler AG, the owners of the Mercedes

Benz. They introduced the Maybach 57 & 62 amongst others, which became the symbols of luxury in the auto

market, but the later years saw a dip in sales. Officials sources now report, that the brand in going to be halted

from production from 2013 onwards. Even then, there have been some special editions of the car made such the

diamond and gold trimmed versions, for super rich folks, some of which are highlighted here:

Most luxurious Maybach editions

1) One-off Maybach Excelero

Bryan ‘Birdman’ Williams’ one-of-a-kind $8 million Maybach Exelero

Owner: Bryan ‘Birdman’ Williams

Price: $8 million

Rappers and their blinged lifestyle are not uncommon news anymore. They seem to have a knack for flash like

no other, and Cash Money Records owner, Bryan ‘Birdman’ Williams was no different. He splashed $8 million

on a custom made Maybach Excelero, which is a 2-seater coupe configuration, with a V12 Turbo-engine

capable of delivering 700 HP of power, and could take the vehicle from 0-100 km/ph in just 4.4 seconds. The

top speed was 350 km/ph.

2) Maybach 62 bomb & bullet proof

Roman Abramovich’s Maybach 62 limousines

Owner: Roman Abramovich

Price: $1.65 million

Oil baron and Chelsea football club owner, Roman Abramovich is known for his opulent lifestyle which

includes his real estate investments and his luxury toys like yachts, boats and cars too. Amongst the many he

has, is the pair of Maybach 62 which has been created to keep away not only bullets, but also bombs if any. Mr.

Abramovich is known to be paranoid about his security, and it was only befitting that the most commonly used

ones of the lot receive a special addition for his security.

3) Chrome Maybach 62S

Maybach 62s Chromed by Theo Paphitis

Owner: Theo Paphitis

Price: $1.29 million

Going higher on the bling factor than rapsters, high-street stationery shop owner Theo Paphitis got this custom

made Maybach 62 for himself, which stands out primarily for its all-chrome chassis. Distinguishable features

include, the Maybach champagne tulip glasses, miniature refrigerator, first-class airline style seating which turn

into flatbeds, 2 flat screens TVs which one can use for gaming and also watching DVDs, apart from the other

standard features of the Maybach 62S, including the more powerful but eco-friendlier engine amongst others.

4) Maybach- India’s first

Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal’s Maybach

Owner: Jahnavi Dhariwal (Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal’s daughter)

Price: $1.07 million

Indian tobacco baron Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal, apart from being the owner of other luxury cars, owns

India’s first Maybach after the commercial launch took place in the country. Handpicked as per her

preferences, Ms. Jahnavi Dhariwal has ensured that there are indeed some special features in the car, including

the Nayarit silver and mid-grey color of the chassis, keyless security system, active seat ventilation, 10 airbags

for safety, and a 3-point special seat belt with auto-comfort features for long journeys and extra security of

passengers. Since this was an occasion of sorts in India, the MD of Daimler Chrysler Hans-Michael Huber

handed over the keys personally to Mr. Dhariwal.

5) Maybach 57S Coupe by Xenatech

Maybach 57S Coupe by Xenatech

Owner: N.A.

Price: $800,000

When luxury saloons came out, their coupe cousins are always in the vicinity, and exactly that’s the case with

the Maybach 57S by Xenatech, the German coach builder. Unlike other modified versions, this one is actually

shorter by around 20cm, but will receive new interiors modifications such as the sportier seating arrangement

in 2 + 2 configuration, new doors and side panels, with also an optional full-glass roof. On the exterior, there

will be options for 20 or 21-inch bespoken alloy wheels, new front and rear bumpers, new tail-lights, dual body

coloring, and special rear diffuser amongst others. There will be a total of 100 of these limited edition

Maybachs available for sale.

6) Maybach 72

Maybach 62 stretched out to Maybach 72

Owner: NA

Price: $780,000

For those who like their cars to be extra-long, the Maybach 72 one-off could have been the perfect choice. Built

with the framework of the Maybach 62, this edition of the luxury saloon was stretched out by a little over 3-feet

over its original length, to accommodate pair extra back-facing seats. But this special redesigning was actually

one of the reasons, why the price of the vehicle doubled. However, the name of the owner was never known.

7) Maybach Limo

Diddy’s son gets a $360K Maybach car on his birthday

Owner: Justin Dior Combs (son of Sean Jean Combs- P.Diddy)

Price: $360,000

The price tag of the Maybach car wasn’t so much of a surprising factor, but the fact that it was the 16th

Birthday gift car to Justin Combs, the college-going son of Sean Jean Combs (P.Diddy), grabbed more

headlines for being too much of a spending on the occasion. Undaunted by the brickbats in the media world and

also his critics, P.Diddy justified the purchase of the luxury vehicle for his son by mentioning that he is an

honors student now, and now one sets any rules for how he raises his children.

8) Maybach 57S

Samuel L. Jackson’s New Maybach 57 S

Owner: Samuel Jackson

Price: NA

Otherwise in the news for his acting, Samuel Jackson is also known in niche circles as being fan of the

Mercedes and Daimler Brand. He had taken a special tour of the Centre of Excellence in Stuttgart, Germany

with his wife, La Tanya and they both jointly created the list of additions and special features to set their

Maybach apart. Amongst the most prominent ones are special Mercedes Benz designo paintjob, crafted

champagne glasses, silver tumblers, folding tables, and solar roof panel for interior temperature regulation.

9) Maybach 62

Mswati’s Maybach

Owner: King Mswati III

Price: $360,000

At a time when most of the country he rules, lives under $1 a day, and depends on food donations for survival,

the King is known for his generous ways of spending money on himself and his family of multiple wives and

children. From jets to luxury car fleets, his shopping list includes the premium of toys, all bought in lots when

his kingdom is battling severe poverty. One of these is the Maybach 62 which is known for its luxurious

interior design and technical features which include a telephone receiver, DVD player, 21-speaker audio

system, heated steering wheel, dust filter, golf bag, refrigerator to name a few.

10) Maybach 2011 Edition 125

2011 Maybach Edition 125

Owner: (one off edition by the company)

Price: N.A.

In 2011, Daimler celebrated 125 years of its existence by creating a special one-off version of the Maybach

luxury sedan. Though naturally with luxury features, several other additions were made for this exclusive piece,

beginning with the Tahiti black and Patagonia silver coloring, a duality of colors carried on the inside as well.

Other significant additions were the chrome radiator grille, re-designed bumper and hood, 21-spoke alloy

wheels, V-12 engine with 630Hp of power output, and lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions. On the

insides, there were the Wilhelm Maybach signature glove compartment cover and armrests, silver and carbon

fiber trimmings, Swarovski crystal artwork, and the special perfume atomizer.

11) Project Kahn Maybach 57 for British Royal couple

Project Kahn customizes Maybach to commemorate William and Kate's royal wedding

Owner: British Royal family

Price: N.A.

The Prince William-Kate Middleton wedding was a truly epic event of sorts. From media houses to designers

like Afzal Kahn, everyone’s attention was fixed towards the event, looking at the hype around it. In a series of

special editions, Mr. Kahn created this exclusive one-off Maybach 57, which even got a special license number

of ‘4 HRH’ which stands for ‘For His Royal Highness’. Other special additions included an entirely redone

Project Kahn interior package, special pearl white body color, 22-inch custom made wheels, apart from special

security and privacy features within the car.

12) Maybach 62

Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah's Maybach

Owner: Sultan of Brunei Hasan Al Bolkiah

Price: NA

Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei is known for his extravagant lifestyle, which includes a car collection well over $5

billion in value. It is know that, a number of larger car companies send him an edition of their new car models,

before they sell to the general public, hence a lot of the cars in his garage are first editions, and special modified

versions of luxury vehicles such as Bentleys, Ferraris, Rolls Royces, etc. One of the many (in 1000s) is a

custom made Maybach 62, which is known to have golden detailing amongst others displays of luxury. Since

he is the sole authority in his country, he keeps a close guard on it his assets, and not much is known about

these cars’ special features.

13) Maybach 57S

King Juan Carlos I’s Maybach

Owner: King Juan Carlos I of Spain

Price: $ NA

When you are a king, it won’t be a big surprise to have the head of Mercedes come in specially to hand over the

keys your Maybach. King Juan Carlos I of Spain was rendered that special service, when he got the keys to his

personalized Maybach 57S from Dr. Dieter Zetsche. Some of the unique features of this Maybach were the

light beige leather interior with brown walnut wooden trimmings, and the generous use of silver artwork on the

gear handle, front console cover and ashtrays, all of which have been done specially for the King by Patrick

Mavros, one of London’s best silversmiths.

14) Maybach Type Zeppelin DS8 Cabriolet, 1929

1929 Maybach Cabriolet DS8

Owner: Multiple

Price: NA

Built on the same framework of the Maybach Type 12, this vehicle came into existence in 1929 as a cabriolet,

and then in 1932 when it was converted into a Zeppelin DS8 version of the Maybach. Though the Zeppelin

featured here is not a custom made version, but known for its flexible yet royal design configurations, this car

was used as special taxi till the 1970’s when it had famous passengers like President Heuss and Chancellor

Kiesinger of Germany. Many variants of this car were custom made for the brand's elite clientele. The notable

features included the 4-stroke 12-cylinder 200 HP engine, with 7922cc as total displacement capacity, and

transmission being a DSG 80 double overdrive transmission. The maximum speed possible on this car was a

150 km/ph, and is still cherished for the sheering riding experience the car provided.

There are some names of owners, and even their prices not being mentioned. These editions generally include

custom made options, whose names are not yet publicly known.