Maybach 57 and 62

DaimierChrysler resurrects a top German brand from the 1920s and 1930s with two models measuring 5.7 and 6.2 m (18.8 and 20.2 ft), both powered by a newly designed 5.5-L bi-turbo V12 engine.

It has been a long time coming, but DaimlerChrysler (DCX) knew that with its ultra-luxurious Maybach, engineering, technology, aesthetic design, interior decor, and equipment had to be as right as they have ever been for any car ever made. The challenges created when a company sets out not only to confront but also to surpass what may be regarded as the world's most prestigious cars are daunting in the extreme, but that is what DCX did when it decided to resurrect the Maybach name and take it to the peak of the passenger car market. (It was a highly luxurious brand in the 1920s and 1930s; the factory was destroyed in World War II.)

First seen in concept form at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show, the Maybach has emerged as an extraordinarily comprehensive production car. Its newly designed 5.5-L bi-turbo V12 engine has a 9:1 compression ratio and produces 405 kW (543 hp) at 5250 rpm and 900 N·m (664 lb·ft) from 2300 rpm to take this big, heavy car from 0 to 100 km / h (0 to 62 mph) in 5.4 s and from 60 to 120 km/h (37 to 75 mph) in 6.5 s. DCX claims it as having “the highest output and torque of any series production car engine in the world.” But the Maybach is not some sort of super version of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, insists Leon Hustinx, Head of Maybach Sales and Marketing: “From the S-Class to the Maybach is a very long journey. We see it as being the most exclusive brand in the automotive world.”