©DaimlerChrysler

It is said that in Germany, the heads of the three leading brands, Volkswagen, BMW, and DaimlerChrysler, are in personal competition with one another for the honor of building the world's most prestigious automobiles. With Volkswagen now in control of Bentley, and BMW owning Rolls-Royce, DaimlerChrysler could therefore not be content with a mere Mercedes S-Class sedan. Hence the new Maybach.

If you know your automotive history, the Maybach name will be familiar as a pre-WW2 maker of luxury cars, competing against Mercedes in spite of an association that goes back to the turn of the century. Wilhelm Maybach, a long-time companion of Gottlieb Daimler, was the spiritual father of the first Mercedes built in 1901, considered the template for all modern-day passenger cars. For this reason, Maybach was much admired and known as the "king of design".

In 1909 he teamed up with Ferdinand von Zeppelin, initially producing power units for the famous Zeppelin air-ships. Nine years later Maybach was building fast powerboats on the banks of Lake Constance, and in 1919 development began of the Maybach luxury car. The first test vehicle was built with a Mercedes chassis. Eventually Maybach's firm became part of the MTU/Diesel Power Train Unit of DaimlerChrysler.

The new Maybach is clearly not meant for folks of ordinary means. There is, however, a small but growing number of individuals who live at the very pinnacle of wealth, people who can afford and seek only the best. The price of a Maybach, likely in the quarter-million dollar range, won't even cause a ripple in their bank balance. The rest of us may never so much as sit in a Maybach, but we can at least enjoy the pleasure of viewing the exterior and imagining what it might be like to be a driver or passenger.

DaimlerChrysler has not revealed many technical details, beyond saying that the new Maybach will have a twin-turbocharged V-12 engine producing 500 hp, with an electronically-controlled air suspension and high-performance electrohydraulic brake system. More has been said about the interior fitments, which not only cradle the occupants in extreme luxury but offer a buffet of electronic and telecommunications features.

Rear passengers enjoy the opulence of individual seats, which adjust into a reclining position with automatically extending leg and foot supports. Two flat-screen monitors are linked to the standard TV receiver and DVD player. There are two variants of the Maybach, the second being longer, obviously meant to be chauffeur driven, and fitted with a complete TV/DVD entertainment system in the rear, Dolby surround sound system, four-zone climate control, and multicontour seats for all passengers.

What truly sets the Maybach apart is the manner in which it is ordered and built. A remarkable (by modern production standards) degree of customisation is offered, to the point where few cars will be exactly alike. For example, Maybachs will have two-tone exterior paintwork with several hundred possible combinations available.

A "Centre of Excellence" is being created in Sindelfingen, where the cars are built. It includes a studio wherein customers can look through a selection of top-quality materials, exclusive colours, and various technical details. A wide variety of woods, natural stone, fabrics, leathers and other lavish equipment forms the basis for the personal finish of each Maybach. DaimlerChrysler claims there are almost no limits, so that every sedan becomes a valuable one-off, "characterised exclusively by the style and taste of its original owner."

The company promises that customers will be involved as much as they wish during the period of manufacture – four weeks – travelling to Sindelfingen to witness their car being made, and even developing further ideas about customised finishes and fittings with manufacturing experts while there.

Very nice, indeed, but here's something I particularly like: Each buyer becomes part of a very small group of customers with its own Personal Liaison Manager, who arranges for the owner's vehicle to be delivered by truck or in special sea/air freight containers. The same system is used when the car needs servicing, a rather important convenience for owners whose home may be far from the nearest Maybach service center.

Obviously Maybach's will be constructed to the highest possible level of quality, but if a technical problem does occur, customers can rely on a team of experts to be on the spot in a matter of hours in any country, with fast and efficient assistance. This, by the way, was a service that Rolls-Royce once offered. If your Roller broke down, a technician was sent to you, fast. Or as fast as steamships and railways could get him there.

As a Maybach owner, you need only press a button on the car's telephone pad and your PLM will be in touch with you, day or night. This very nice gentleman will not only arrange visits to the Center of Excellence and look after the details of your Maybach, he can also book passes for the next Formula One race. Right there, I'm sold... put me on your list for the Monaco GP, please.

So you see, a Maybach may be prohibitively expensive for all but a handful of the world's automobile owners — only seven cars a day will come off the lines — but if you've got the money, you'll be getting an exquisite, partly hand-made car, plus the services of a PLM; you and your Maybach's personal valet.

With all this, one might wonder why the styling is so conservative. Though it has details reminiscent of previous Maybachs, the overall appearance puts me in mind of the last-generation Rolls-Royce, or perhaps the current Rover 75 (a very attractive car, incidentally). But I suppose that's the way it is with the rich; they'd rather not be conspicuous.

Though how you could hide in something as long and lavish as a Maybach is somewhat of a mystery to me.