You don't see too many Maybachs on the road in the U.S. Just 156 were sold here in 2007, about 13 every month. The truth is, we are not the right kind of people for these ultra-luxury cars, which have far more appeal in the Middle East and Far East, where newly booming economies have produced a crop of millionaires with a taste for exclusive transportation like this.
2009 Maybach 57: This is the Maybach for personal transportation, kind of like a Bentley as seen through a peculiarly German perspective. As before, there are two models of the 57, the standard model with its 550-horsepower twin-turbo V12 and the 57 S with its 612-hp twin-turbo V12. There are no particular changes for 2009, but since these cars can be individually crafted to a customer's specifications, who can really say?
2009 Maybach 62: This long-wheelbase version of the Maybach is intended for chauffeur-driven (or security guard-directed) transportation, kind of like a Rolls-Royce as seen through a peculiarly German perspective. As before there are two models: the standard car with its 550-hp V12 and the 62 S with its 612-hp twin-turbo V12.
2009 Maybach Landaulet: As Maybach has been telling us at regular intervals since the 2007 Paris Auto Show, it has created a new Landaulet model, a throwback to a chauffeur-driven car with a convertible roof over the passenger compartment. Apparently, a survey of customers (like a similar poll of 531 millionaires in the U.S. that Maybach also conducted recently) revealed a desire for such a thing. Maybach transforms a 62 sedan in its shops in Sindelfingen, and the result is something of a cross between a parade car and a super-yacht. The electrically powered roof retracts in less than 20 seconds. A tonneau cover conceals the folded roof, and a logo of "Maybach Landaulet" is embroidered into the cover where it's visible to following traffic. The price is $1.38 million, and deliveries begin this fall. Hurry, operators are standing by.
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