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Car Review: 2004 Maybach 62


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)

By Andrew Frankl

I drove a Maybach 62 the other day. We were invited to a charity function and without going into too many details let me just say that it was full of the sort of people who could all afford a Maybach with the exception of yours sincerely. Still, we thought, why not ask our very good friends at Mercedes-Maybach’s parent company- and see if we could borrow one for the evening. They were wonderful. Not only did they let us have the car for the evening, it came with an immaculately dressed chauffeur called Brad. He very kindly allowed me to drive his charge, a huge machine which sells for approximately 360 thousand dollars. A vast amount of money but as some of our readers may well be able to afford it let me give you some statistics.

The Maybach 62 has a 543 horsepower twin-turbocharged V-12 engine capable of speeds well in excess of 130 miles per hour. (The cops on the Golden Gate bridge would have loved me doing even half of that!) It has a 5-speed automatic transmission, 19 inch aluminium alloy wheels, hand-sewn Grand Nappa leather. A refrigerated rear console with sterling silver champagne flutes, GPS navigation, Sirius Satellite radio, 21(!!) speaker Bose sound system and of course his and hers DVD/TV s built into the back of the front seats. I am exactly 6 ft tall so after handing the car back to Brad I settled into the back seat. After pressing a few buttons I was fully reclined watching the 6 o’clock news.

Outrageous? Absolutely. Amazing? Totally. Have I ever driven anything like it? Never, nor am I likely to. Was it a very special experience? Without a shadow of a doubt. If I were Mercedes/Maybach I would take it to technical colleges to show students what can be done when money is no object and also to point out some of the features which with time will filter down to everyday automobiles. It was the nearest thing to Concorde on wheels. Maybach-thank you.

MAYBACH PRESS KIT