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N0KFQ > TODAY 03.03.15 17:00l 59 Lines 2856 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 48905_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Mar 3
Path: IZ3LSV<IR1UAW<IQ5KG<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 150303/1600Z 48905@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
2009
Super-luxurious Maybach Zeppelin goes on sale
On this day in 2009, the uber-luxurious Maybach Zeppelin sedan
goes on sale, with a starting price of $523,870 for the Maybach
57 Zeppelin and $610,580 for the Maybach 62 Zeppelin.
Daimler-Benz, owner of the Maybach brand, announced that only 100
Zeppelins would be built, with each vehicle hand-crafted to its
individual buyer's specifications. Among the Zeppelin's many
optional amenities was the world's first perfume-atomizing
system, for which customers could even have their own personal
fragrance designed.
The 2009 Maybach Zeppelin was a reincarnation of the Zeppelin
auto built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The original
Zeppelin was made by a company founded by German auto industry
pioneer Wilhelm Maybach. In 1885, Maybach and the German engineer
Gottlieb Daimler developed a new, high-speed, four-stroke
internal combustion engine, which they later affixed to a bicycle
to create what people call the first-ever motorcycle. The two men
later attached their engine to a carriage, producing a motorized
vehicle. In 1890, Daimler and several partners established
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (Daimler Motor Company) to build
engines and automobiles. In 1900, Maybach, who served as the
company's chief designer, developed the first Mercedes
automobile. Commissioned by auto dealer and racer Emil Jellinek,
who wanted a new car to sell to his rich clients in the French
Riviera, the Mercedes was named after Jellinek's daughter.
Gottlieb Daimler died in March 1900 and Maybach left the Daimler
company in 1907. Maybach later went into business with his
engineer son Karl (1879-1960) and in 1921 at a Berlin auto show
they debuted their first car, the Maybach Type W3. During the
1920s and 1930s, the company became known for developing
powerful, technologically sophisticated, custom-built vehicles
for the wealthy, including the top-of-the-line Zeppelin model.
Wilhelm Maybach died on December 29, 1929, at the age of 83.
During World War II, the company stopped making cars and built
engines for German military vehicles instead. Auto production
never resumed after the war, although Maybach continued to build
engines for a variety of vehicles and eventually became part of
Daimler-Benz. In the early 2000s, DaimlerChrysler (as it was then
called; since 2007 its name has been Daimler AG) resurrected the
Maybach nameplate, launching the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62
(the numbers represent each vehicle's length: 5.7 meters and 6.2
meters). Today, Maybachs are known for their power and luxury
accoutrements-the 2009 Zeppelin featured a twin turbocharged
6.0-liter V12 engine as well a high-quality leather interior and
silver champagne flutes engraved with the word Zeppelin.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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