Maybach is named after Wilhelm Maybach (1846–1929), one of the most important engineers in automotive history. As Gottlieb Daimler’s partner, he helped build some of the first gasoline engines and vehicles, and he designed the 1901 Mercedes 35 hp, often called the first modern car. With his son Karl Maybach, he later built engines for Zeppelin airships and, from 1921, magnificent luxury cars. Maybach cars ended with the Second World War, the name was revived by Daimler in 2002, and it lives today as Mercedes-Maybach.

Timeline

Year Event
1880s Maybach works with Gottlieb Daimler on high-speed gasoline engines
1901 Designs the Mercedes 35 hp
1907 Leaves Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
1909 Founds an engine company with Karl Maybach for Zeppelin airships
1921 First Maybach car
1930 Maybach Zeppelin DS8 V12
c. 1941 Car production ends
2002 Brand revived with Maybach 57 and 62
2015 Becomes Mercedes-Maybach

Daimler’s partner

Wilhelm Maybach met Gottlieb Daimler at an engineering works in Reutlingen and followed him to the Deutz engine company and then to Cannstatt, where together they developed small, fast-running gasoline engines. They fitted one to a wooden two-wheeler in 1885 — often considered the first motorcycle — and later to a carriage and a boat.

The first Mercedes

At the request of Emil Jellinek, Maybach designed a new car for Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft: the Mercedes 35 hp of 1901, with a low center of gravity, a honeycomb radiator and a powerful engine. It set the pattern for cars for decades. The French press called Maybach the “king of designers”. Read why it’s called Mercedes.

Engines for the sky

After leaving Daimler, Maybach and his son built engines for Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin’s airships from a base in Friedrichshafen. Maybach engines powered many famous airships, including the Graf Zeppelin.

Maybach cars

The first Maybach car appeared in 1921, and Maybach became one of Germany’s most exclusive marques. Its flagship, the Zeppelin DS8 with an 8-litre V12, rivaled the finest cars in the world. Read the Maybach Zeppelin DS8.

War and after

During the Second World War, Maybach built engines for German military vehicles. Afterward, the company focused on large diesel engines and eventually became part of what is now Rolls-Royce Power Systems (MTU). The Maybach name returned for cars in 2002 — see the Maybach 57 and 62 — and as Mercedes-Maybach in 2015. See the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.