2009 Maybach 62 S Landaulet

This is a 2009 Maybach 62 Landaulet, powered by a 604-hp twin-turbocharged V12 engine, running power to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission. It is finished in black over a tan interior, with black seat piping and accents.

• 6.0-L V-12 engine
• Five-spd w/OD transmission
• 604 hp @ 4,800 rpm
• 738 @ 2,000 rpm torque
• Rear-wheel drive type
• ABS and driveline traction control
• 20" silver aluminum wheels
• Front air conditioning, dual zone automatic
• Rear air conditioning, with separate controls
• Driver and front passenger heated-cushion, heated-seatback heated front seats
• SIRIUS AM/FM/satellite, seek-scan radio
• Keyfob (all doors) remote keyless entry
• Front and rear fog/driving lights
• Heated mirrors
• Power convertible top
• Windshield wipers - rain sensing
• Leather seat trim
• Driver and passenger lumbar support
• Navigation system
• Parking assist

When Daimler Benz announced the decision to create an ultra-luxury line in the mid-90s, it was clear that they intended to address the increase in competition headed their way. That competition came for them from both below and above, aimed squarely at their vaunted S-class sedans and coupes. For many years - decades, even -  that big body sedan from the world’s oldest car maker was considered the gold standard. Built to impossible standards, restrained in approach while constructed from the best materials, built to last as well as any family heirloom sitting in a cupboard safe at home, the powers that be seemed to feel that merely being the best was no longer enough. 

So it came to pass that, in 1997 at the Tokyo Auto Show, the announcement of an ultra-luxury line above the S-class was headed to market. Calling it Maybach harkened back to the very beginning for the company, when Gottlieb Daimler worked with an engineer named Wilhelm Maybach to design and build the company’s first combustion engines. Throughout the early 20th century, Maybachs were the most opulent option for the well-heeled, so historically, the name was apt for the new mission. And as BMW went about buying Rolls-Royce, fighting with the VW Group over that marque and the intellectual property of Bentley as they craved to make a statement, Mercedes-Benz chose to build on what they were, not look outward for legitimacy.

As it turned out, when the Maybach arrived, it represented what the S-Class suddenly found itself struggling to achieve. For much of the '80s and '90s, the S-Class was widely considered the best car in the world - best engineering, cost-no-object construction, safe and capable. But when the competition showed that they too were capable of serious machinery, but made for less and more efficiently, Daimler-Benz spent the turn of the century suddenly grappling with the idea that they weren’t the only game in town. When they attempted to cut costs, it showed -  because they had no experience at it. Their stumble was obvious, and their best product suffered for it.

While they didn’t take long to respond, the Maybach was proof that they still knew how to build the best in the world.  While based on the S-Class chassis, the specification was opulent beyond anything seen from Daimler-Benz in decades.

The Landaulet version seen here is the ultimate expression of that unlimited luxury, with the added bonus of allowing fresh-air motoring in a way rarely seen in a modern luxury sedan. The sheer decadence of the electrically retractable cloth roof is what separates the Landaulet from other limousines, and makes the rear seat passengers feel like dignitaries and not mere passengers.

For all the luxuriousness, the one modification to this Landaulet is the most critical for a car from this era - replacing the original video screens with the latest HD units with Apple TV interfaces that ensure a fully satisfying experience - the finishing touch for when the airplane-style reclining seat with leg support doesn’t quite get the job accomplished.