The Maybach Story
The Maybach name has been linked to Mercedes-Benz since the beginning of the automobile
Article Graham Robson Images Daimler Archives
Maybach badge, 1930s.
What is a Maybach? Oh yes, you say – that’s easy. That was the name given to the top-of-the-range models Mercedes-Benz built in the early 2000s. And in 2015, the name was given to the new ultra-luxury version of the S-Class, the Mercedes-Maybach.
But hold on there. Maybach – where did the name come from? What were its roots? What was the original connection with Mercedes-Benz? Was there originally more to the Maybach name than the title of a super S-Class of the 2000s, and if so, what, when and where?
In fact, this is a complicated story. First of all, the Maybach name was at the very heart of the birth of the Daimler branch of the dynasty as Wilhelm Maybach worked with Gottlieb Daimler on the engine’s original development. Maybach then broke free and founded a new independent company, which developed massive engines for Zeppelin airships. Maybach’s company then returned to its roots in 1921 with the launch of its own automobiles, competing head on – and at high prices – with Mercedes and Benz. This competition continued during World War II, with Maybach adapting its design and manufacture to many of the engines used in Germany’s formidable tanks and military machines. Following this, heavy-engine development programs increased (links with Rolls-Royce were established), but it was not until 1960 that the Maybach brand was finally reunited with Daimler-Benz.
Although I am still fascinated by Maybach’s contribution to the military scene, on this occasion it is the company’s cars that attract most of my attention. These automobiles were always exclusive, carefully engineered and often in direct competition with those of Daimler, Benz and (from 1926, of course) Mercedes-Benz. Largely aimed at the same restricted high-price market in Germany (there were virtually no exports, it seems), these glossy and flamboyantly styled models attracted limited sales: When civilian-car assembly closed down circa 1941, only about 2,000 Maybach cars had been built in 20 years.
In the beginning
The Maybach car story really began in 1919 when the company, banned by post-World War politico-military decisions from continuing to build airship and aircraft engines, turned to developing much smaller petrol engines for use in cars and trucks. At first, with no thought of building complete cars of its own, Maybach supplied 5.7-liter 6-cylinder 70-horsepower W2 side-valve engines to Spyker of Holland. However, these cars were too costly to prosper; Spyker assembly ended in 1925 after only 150 such models were constructed.
These, therefore, were the engines Maybach chose for its very first signature brand, the W3 of 1921-1928, a model that was joined in 1926 by the W5, which had a massive 120-horsepower 7-liter engine allied to a Maybach-designed overdrive transmission. Then, as later, Maybach was not cautious in its developments, for the W5 engine had horizontally opposed valves operated by two camshafts via rocker arms. Three hundred cars of this type were built before 1930.
Enter the Zeppelin
All this enterprise, however, faded into insignificance in 1929 when the new Maybach Type 12 automobile first appeared; this soon was supplanted by the even more outstanding Zeppelin model. If ever there were a model that Mercedes-Benz had cause to fear (the companies were still rivals at the time), this was it: Nothing that Ferdinand Porsche had proposed for a range of new cars to be built at Stuttgart was as ambitiously engineered. One might say that it was the Zeppelin that challenged Mercedes-Benz to continue innovating through the early 1930s. The company was spurred on to build not only the new Type 770, but soon followed with renowned super-charged sports cars, culminating with the 540K.
Central to the new Zeppelin’s design was a magnificent 6.9-liter 421 cubic-inch V-12 power unit, of conventional 2-valve-overhead layout, but producing a brawny 150 horsepower. Only two other European companies produced V-12 engines before this time – the range of sleeve-valve units from the British Daimler concern (brand name licensed from Daimler-Benz AG), the other a French Voisin – but as far as Maybach was concerned, this was only the start. Next up, in 1931, was the Type 12 DS7 (150 horsepower) and DS8 (200 horsepower) range, the latter with a complex transmission offering eight forward speeds and four reverse ratios. The rest of the chassis was conventional; beam axles and half-elliptic leaf springs were used for both front and rear suspensions.
Noted British automotive historian Michael Sedgwick years later wrote, “The styling of the Spohn and Glaser coachwork fitted to these chassis was strictly traditional, and the ‘Rolls-Royce of Germany’ lived up to its name. … The shortest of the three available wheelbases was 144 inches, while the diameter of the engine’s flywheel was seventeen inches, the radiator shell was nearly three feet wide, and the driver sat behind seven feet of bonnet [hood]. ... With closed bodywork, the cars weighed over three tons. ...”
Chauffeurs (surely, no Maybach of this size was ever owner-driven) had to be strong in those days, for there was no question of power assistance provided for the steering though, at least, there was vacuum servo assistance for the braking of what was, after all, a bulky, heavy, 90-mph machine.
Such was the size and complexity of this behemoth that it was priced at the same stratospheric level as the Mercedes-Benz Grosser Type 770 – and sold in the same acutely limited quantities. Maybach, though, didn’t seem to mind this funereal rate of sales; its automotive marketing focused on image rather than profit. Only about 200 such cars were produced.
This approach differed from that of Rolls-Royce in Great Britain and Cadillac in the United States, where cars were priced strictly according to costs incurred in building the chassis, while the cost of coachwork (from specialist firms) was determined by the buyer. In both cases, it helped that Rolls-Royce relied on profits from vast military aeroengine contracts whereas Cadillac was merely one of a whole quiver of brands owned by General Motors, which could afford to support its marginally profitable flagship brand.
In any case, Maybach’s profit from massive military engines was assured; the company simply wanted to show the world that Mercedes-Benz wasn’t the only firm that could produce such magnificent machines. During the 1930s, the privilege of seeing a Maybach or Mercedes-Benz – ideally a convertible – leading a parade of government or military dignitaries was much prized and it was generally agreed that the Spohn coachwork was the equal, if not superior, to any shapes offered on Grosser Mercedes-Benzes of the period.
Even so, in Germany – more so than in the United States and Great Britain – the Great Depression hit hard at car makers of this standard. Maybach was soon obliged to produce models that were cheaper – relatively speaking – than the magnificent DS8 Zeppelin, though that illustrious machine carried on, hand built to order until 1939 and the outbreak of war.
Later models
Rationalization, such as it was, continued in the 1930s, first with the introduction of the W6, which was effectively a Zeppelin chassis powered by the existing 7-liter, 6-cylinder engine. Unhappily, the need to sell a car at a lower price was foiled by its lack of appeal; with only 120 horsepower instead of the lusty 150 or 200 horsepower customers had become accustomed to in the original Zeppelin V-12s, performance was less startling and discerning clientele looked the other way.
Stung, Maybach then produced the first of its only real new mid-1930s models, the DSH, featuring a new 5.2-liter, 130-brake horsepower overhead-valve engine. Still, this was not enough to excite the high-flying tycoons and generals who might have bought such a machine.
As a consequence, the company took a deep breath in 1935 and launched another new model, the SW35, the only Maybach-badged machine ever to have a relatively small 6-cylinder engine. Even so, this was no ordinary six, for it had thoroughly modern bore and stroke dimensions (for the period) of 90mm x 90mm, making it a 3,435cc power unit, one not only used in single-overhead camshaft cylinder-head layout, but producing a startlingly efficient 140 brake horsepower.
Clearly, this car had evolved with direct competition against Mercedes-Benz in mind, for it had a new box-section chassis frame with coil spring/wishbone independent front and coil spring/swing-axle independent rear suspension. Even though the shortest version had a 133-inch wheelbase, it could reach almost 95 mph and, but for the usual high Maybach price, was a very desirable machine.
Even so, Maybach decided that this engine needed enlargement, so a 3.8-liter version in the SW38 appeared. With an end to peacetime motoring in 1939, that engine was enlarged again to 4.2 liters for the SW42. Not that this helped sales, but it didn’t seem to matter to Maybach, which was already well advanced with its program of building massive tank engines for Germany military use.
After just 20 years, therefore, the impressive but rare Maybach private-car pedigree in effect went into suspended animation and the brand was not seen again until the early 2000s.
Wilhelm Maybach at his home in Cannstatt, 1910. He left Daimler for the final time in 1907.
Wilhelm Maybach
Born in Heilbronn, Germany, in 1846, Wilhelm Maybach first met Gottlieb Daimler in 1864 and both traveled to Deutz in 1872 to work at Gasmotoren-Fabrik Deutz AG, where Maybach started work as a draftsman. The two left G-F in 1882, moved to Cannstatt, and began developing the original gasoline engines for use in motor vehicles. The two were originators of the first Daimler cars, which made their debut in 1886.
Sadly, Maybach later quarreled with Daimler, apparently over contractual details, and stormed out in 1891 – at least officially. Behind closed doors, however, he seems to have continued work with Daimler, officially returning officially as technical director in 1895. Years later, after once again quarrelling with senior management, Maybach left Daimler for the last time in 1907.
Although he had no further links with Daimler, Maybach prospered during the next 20 years, first by setting up as a manufacturer of massive engines for use in airships, then settling into a factory at Friedrichshafen on the banks of Lake Constance – there’s a museum to his memory today – before establishing the Maybach automobile operation in 1921.
Maybach remained at the helm of his company, with son Karl Maybach managing day-to-day operations, until his death in 1929.
Line drawing of a Maybach 62, built 2002-2013. Longer than the Maybach 57, the 62 was intended to be driven by a chauffeur.
Modern Maybachs
Many years – 61 to be precise – after the last of the magnificent Autobahn stormers were abandoned, in 2002 Daimler-Benz revived the famous Maybach name as a new sub-brand of automobiles. It was effectively a no-holds-barred improvement on the S-Class of the period. The inspiration behind this relaunch, no question, was that BMW was preparing to launch its own super-luxury brand, having acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce name for use on automobiles.
This isn’t the place to go into the detail about modern Maybachs, except to note that they’re bigger, more powerful, better equipped and much more costly than contemporary Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans from which they were derived. There was a choice of two wheelbases – 133.5 inches on the Type 57 and 150.6 inches on the larger Type 62 – both cars having a new-type 550-horsepower 5.5-liter V-12 power unit.
Every possible piece of technical and functional equipment was fitted and, naturally, they came at an enormous price. Britain’s Autocar magazine described the new offering as “the incredible hulk” that “dwarfs the S-Class Mercedes in price, size and equipment.” Even the small Type 57 weighed more than 6,130 pounds at the curbside. It was no wonder that in 2003, prices for the special-order cars started at $250,000 and that company bosses hoped to sell only between 12,000 and 14,000 cars during the car’s life cycle.
Unhappily, the dream soon evaporated; only 600 cars were sold in 2003 – a mere 166 of which made it to the United States – and demand never truly improved. In 2010, only 157 Maybachs were sold worldwide and in 2011, the parent company revealed it would shortly drop the range. The last car was manufactured on 17 December 2012. In all, less than 3,000 modern Maybachs were sold.
Images:
Watercolor rendering of a Maybach Type W3 open touring car with removable windshield; 1921-1926
Type W6, 1930-1933, four-door cabriolet, body by Hermann Spohn, Ravensburg.
Maybach Type Zeppelin DS8 from above.
Three Maybach Zeppelin DS7s, with the Zeppelin Airship Company hangar in the distance, Friedrichshafen, 1931.
Colossal: Zeppelin four-door cabriolet with 12-cylinder, 200-horsepower DS8 motor, 1931-1939.
Watercolors of available body styles for Maybach Type SW 38, from a 1938 sales brochure.
Streamlined Maybach Zeppelin DS 8, body by Hermann Spohn, Ravensburg, 1934.
Front of a SW35 of 1935, the only Maybach with a relatively small 6-cylinder engine.
Maybach Zeppelin DS8 Streamliner, body by Hermann Spohn, 1932.
These two Maybach SW42 sedans were rebodied after World War II. The vehicle on the right has a body by F.K.J. Coachbuilders, Friedrichshafen, 1954; it served for years as a Maybach company director’s car. The car on the left received a new Spohn body in 1951. The cars are shown at the company headquarters building in Friedrichshafen.