To be produced in a limited run of 100 vehicles at Mercedes-Benz's Sindelfingen factory in southern Germany, the range-topping Maybach can be ordered based on either the 57 or the more spacious 62 version of the company's six-year-old upmarket limousine — the latter aimed at rival Rolls-Royce's Phantom EWB.
Resurrecting the name given to the most imposingly styled and luxuriously equipped Maybach models built between 1928 and 1934, the modern-day Zeppelin is distinguished from existing Maybach models through a range of exterior styling changes, equipment upgrades to the interior and a more powerful version of the Maybach S's V12 gasoline engine.
They include a unique two-tone paint scheme combining beige along the shoulder line with a black finish for the rest of the body, together with more aerodynamic exterior mirror housings with integral indicator units, darkened taillamp lenses, an altered tailpipe design, towering 12-spoke 20-inch alloy wheels and Zeppelin badges in the grille and on the trunk.
Inside, there is corresponding beige and black leather for the seats, along with black piano lacquer for the dashboard fascia. Other unique touches are silver champagne flutes, door sills and a key, all engraved with the word "Zeppelin."
Mercedes-Benz is offering Maybach Zeppelin customers a new high-tech perfume atomizer as a $5,120 extra. It allows rear-seat passengers to insert a vial of their preferred fragrance into a plexiglass container. A regulator pump then directs an atomized spray through the interior.
Powering the Zeppelin is an updated version of the Maybach S's twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 engine producing 640 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque. No performance claims have been made, although sources point toward a 0-60-mph time and top speed comparable to the existing Maybach 57S's 5.0 seconds and 171 mph.
Mercedes-Benz has not yet released North American pricing. In Germany, the 57 Zeppelin will be priced at the equivalent of $525,775, while the 62 Zeppelin is priced at $612,800, including local taxes.
Inside Line says: The competition at the tiptop end of the luxury market heats up; Rolls-Royce had better call in an atomizer specialist pronto. — Andreas Stahl, Correspondent
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