When it comes to luxury brands, one of the finest in the world has to be Maybach. It is certainly one of the oldest luxury brands in the world, originally being founded in 1909 when it was originally known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH right up until 1999. During that time, the company was acquired by Daimler-Benz in 1960 before returning as its own standalone brand in 2002, producing ultra-luxurious cars. Despite that reinstatement, things did not pan out quite so well for Maybach.

It ceased to be its own brand in 2013 and was absorbed into Mercedes-Benz in 2015 and is now referred to as Mercedes-Maybach, producing the extremely luxurious S-Class Maybach edition. In its illustrious history, the brand has produced many incredible cars, some of which you might not have heard of. One of those is the Maybach Exelero. This is one of the most impressive and incredible looking one-off concepts ever created, and a car that hasn’t really had its story told all that much. Out of everything Maybach has produced, this is perhaps one of their lesser-known models.

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A Cool Name With A Striking Face

Maybach Exelero
via Daimler Media

First things first, you have to admit that the Exelero certainly is quite the name, and it has quite the cool face to match it. The bold and aggressively sculpted grille and hood design is something to behold. When you look at this car, you would be forgiven for thinking it was simply a one-trick pony, not meant to be anything that could be used for anything other than showroom presentations. Well you’d be wrong, because this Maybach had a very serious purpose.

Maybach Exelero
via Daimler Media

This purpose was to do some pretty serious tire testing. The car was commissioned back in 2003 by the Germany division of Goodyear tires, Fulda. Why was it commissioned by the company? Fulda wanted a fast and heavy car to be able to test out its newest and widest tires, to put them under the most extreme stress and testing regime to ensure they were up to the job. Funnily enough, Maybach had done the same for Fulda in 1938 with the SW38. So when Fulda came knocking on the door of Mercedes-Benz, they decided to go and hand over the brief for the project to the guys and girls over at Maybach. Thus, the principle behind the Exelero was created, and the project was born. But this wasn’t just about creating a super tire tester.

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Going Back To Their Roots

Maybach Exelero
via Daimler Media

The world of cars had certainly moved on from 1938 by the time Maybach were given the task of creating this tire testing monstrosity. But the company didn’t just want to create a beefed up version of what it was already selling. Maybach decided that not only would this be a bespoke, one-off creation for Fulda, but it would also pay homage to the incredible style and design of the streamlined racers from the 1930s. Thus, the Exelero would look unlike anything the company had ever produced before, with classic 1930s lines with modern refinement.

Maybach Exelero
via Daimler Media

The car was then unveiled to the world in Berlin back in 2005. And boy did it set tongues wagging. The Exelero was a 2.6-tonne monster with quite frankly some somewhat sinister lines, looking every bit the beast it was. And it was long too, being 229.7 inches long. Power for the car came via a unique twin-turbo 5.9-liter V12 engine which produced a whopping 691 hp, and 737 lb-ft of torque. Simply put, this car meant business and was more than up to the job that Fulda had asked it to do. And to accommodate the company’s wide tires, the Exelero featured giant 23-inch wheels that would intimidate even a monster truck off the word. Top speed? An utterly ludicrous 217 mph.

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Getting On With The Task In Hand

Maybach Exelero
via Daimler Media

With the car fully built and ready to go, it was now time for it to get on with the task it was built for. That remarkable task was to drive a set of laps around the insane Nardo high-speed bowl in Italy, as fast as possible to put the tires under the most extreme testing conditions. The car was driven by Le Mans and Nürburgring 24 Hours winner Klaus Ludwig, and remarkably he achieved a top speed of 218.3 mph which broke the record for a luxury limousine on street tires. Not only that, but it exceeded the 217 mph figure that Maybach had said it would be able to achieve. An absolutely astounding achievement. In its now 100-year history, Maybach have never come close to matching the Exelero for awesomeness.

A Reclusive Retirement Awaited The Exelero

Following that rather wild, record braking, tire testing run, the Exelero has lived a pretty mundane and quiet retirement, for the most part. Following its successful run, it was sold in 2011, after rapper Birdman alleged that he had purchased the car for a slightly eye-watering $8 million. However, owners at the time and owners now Mechatronik, denied this in 2012 after a profile of the car by Motorvision, following claims from Birdman that he intended to paint the car red. Mechatronik are a car builder, dealer and collector based in Germany. The car is still very much black, and still runs, with Supercar Blondie showcasing the car back in September 2019. The fact that this car was built in the first place is remarkable. The fact it still exists is a miracle. Mercedes themselves call it a very special concept car, and it certainly is that.

Sources: YouTube, Daimler Media

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