Now we know what Randy Parker, little brother of Ralphie in the classic 1983 movie “A Christmas Story,” would get if he grew up to be the head of a bailed-out Wall Street bank: The Maybach Zeppelin. The newest range-topper for Mercedes-Benz’s ultra-luxury brand boasts a host of refinements and upgrades — as if the regular Maybachs are so pedestrian — including a bump in horsepower to the car’s twin-turbocharged V-12 engine, giving it 640 hp and 737 lb.-ft. of torque.
The Maybach Zeppelin is not, in reality, an homage to campy 80s holiday films, but a reincarnation of the classic Maybach model of the 1930s. It includes a two-tone paint job that is supposed to evoke memories of the original Zeppelin model, along with special badges on the exterior and interior.
The Zeppelin also introduces a world-first: perfumed air, and no, that doesn’t mean dangling a couple of pine trees from the rearview mirror. Using a computerized, programmable perfume vial, the Zeppelin can make its air smell like whatever the owners put in the jar. Maybach says that the perfume won’t soak into the clothes of passengers or the car’s upholstery, and even notes that it shuts itself off every now and then so that your nose has a chance to get un-used to the odor, later respraying as it “allows the experience to be enjoyed all over again.” It also comes with two select fragrances developed exclusively for Maybach. Cost? How about a cool €406,000 for the short-wheelbase Maybach 57 Zeppelin (about $523,865), or €473,200 for the long-wheelbase 62 Zeppelin (about $610,235). The perfume squirter is an option, by the way, and will set you back an extra €3,950, or about $5,100. I think Randy could afford it.
(The “Christmas Story” stuff too obscure? Be grateful I didn’t go with a “crash-and-burn” prediction for the new model.)
2 Users Responded to " Shanghai Auto Show: Maybach Zeppelin Debuts "
WOW! For $5100.00 I could spray my own perfume in the car every once in a while thank you. Why is Maybach still around? Hard to believe the few sales they have had lately are worthy of continuing this marque.
I share your confusion, RP. Just what the world needs! Well, maybe some of the parvenus in China will buy them–
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