WHAT IS IT?
Regular readers of TBOOTP know that we tend to revel in affordable survivors. This car is certainly not that but it is a likely lesson in horrendously painful depreciation. Maybach was a new ultra luxury brand recreated by Mercedes-Benz. Originally started in Germany in 1909, Maybach manufactured special luxury cars until 1940 when production was interrupted by the second world war and never restarted. Apparently, S-Class Mercedes Benzes weren’t special enough for some buyers so the Daimler brain trust thought they needed a new brand to compete with Rolls-Royce so Maybach was reborn as a separate brand. Their sedan was based on the aforementioned S-class mechanicals and to some eyes, they were not differentiated enough in styling though opulent touches abounded in their interiors.
This Zeppelin edition was the top-of-the-line of an over-the-top brand. It featured a 631 hp twin-turbo V12, curtains for the rear side windows, sterling silver champaign flutes, a refrigerator in the rear center console, umbrellas, and special badging.
On auction through SBXCars.com, the auction site from Supercar Blondie of social media fame, it will be interesting to see what this sells for compared to it’s original price of $471,600.
WHY THIS ONE HAS BEST ONE ON THE PLANET CHOPS
This is essentially a new car with only about 700 miles from new, so there is little to fault. The seller says the car was originally sold in Florida before being exported to the UAE then back to the US in recent years. Apparently it acquired more frequent flier points than actual driving miles.
Maybach may be proof that rarity doesn’t equal desirability but those are definitely the best champaign flutes we’ve ever shown on The Best One On The Planet. The cost per mile of ownership of this car by the original owner makes our eyes water but this could certainly make for an interesting driver as a 15 year old used car.
This Zeppelin edition was the top-of-the-line of an over-the-top brand
Wow, the Graf Zeppelin has moored at Supercar Blondie. It’s difficult to say where this will end up, but it could certainly place high in the running for the all time 15-year depreciation record. Could I drive this unironically? I’m not sure. Is this the best of the the 100 built? It’s tough to imagine that it isn’t. While there might be one with lower miles in an Emirati garage somewhere, cars that sit for any length of time in the Middle East tend to not age well.