DaimlerChrysler India brings the Rs 5 crore-Maybach 62, the ultimate in luxury, to India. By our Automotive Bureau

The most recent CBU from DaimlerChrysler India is the Maybach 62. It is the company's vehicle to raise the luxury bar higher than the Mercedes S-class. Engineered to smell exclusivity in no uncertain terms, the Maybach does not show any interest in the three-pointed star - the Mercedes brand logo. Instead of sporting the three-pointed star, a simple double "M" logo in a triangle adorns the hood of the car and the deck lid.

The double-M logo stands for 'Maybach Manufacture' and is a tribute to the German engineering genius, Wilhelm Maybach. Wilhelm was closely associated with Gottlieb Daimler and also designed the engine that powered the Mercedes. Wilhelm and his son, Karl, were driven by the desire to build the best engines in the world and were confident of achieving it. They did and thus the Maybach engines powered the Zeppelin airships.

As a mark of achievement, one of the cars Maybach built sported the Zeppelin name. This was during the '30s though the brand disappeared from the scene in the early '40s. The company was eventually bought over by the manufacturers of Mercedes.

Back to the 62 and the most striking detail of the car is its length - a good 6.2meters! There is a more compact model called the 52, tailored for those who like to drive themselves rather than be chauffeured around.

At 6.2 metres the Maybach is a full metre longer than its comparatively smaller - and cheaper - cousin, the S-class is. In other words, the 62s are almost as long as two-Maruti 800s. The proportions of the car are spot-on. A long hood, sweeping greenhouse and a short rear end convey a sense of opulence.

The gentle, sweeping lines, the elegantly moulded contours and the two-tone paint job blend seamlessly to present the car with a aura that is both, unique and extraordinary. A little unconventional for a limousine but a close look and the Mercedes connection nevertheless shows. But this has little to do with the details that gently whisper timeless grace. The chrome strip, for example, stretches from the front to the rear as if to represent the silhouette of the car.

Peep into the headlamps and the bi-xenon projector-type lenses carrying the "M" symbol give the impression of being crafted by skilled hands. Aesthetically, the Maybach looks the part - the majestic lines, the gently flowing silhouette and the overall balance, which communicates a sense of serene travel. The Maybach was built for serene travel and therefore don't be mislead by the heavy looks of the car or its effort to connect with the majestic Maybachs of the yore. Technology enjoys an upper hand as it did in the Maybachs, then.

The doors are built from aluminium using lasers. Weight-saving is the technological mantra here and the roof, bonnet and the wings are also made from aluminium. The body shell weighs just 622kg and this has its advantages. But before we get into the nitty-gritties of the advantages of weight saving, let us take a quick tour of the inside.

Think of the inside and everything that you could ever imagine in a car is already fitted on the 62. In terms of entertainment, communication, comfort or the techno-wizardy for that matter, you ask and it is there. To start with the roof of the Maybach is five-feet high and this does away with the need to crouch low to gain entry or exit.

The rear door opens 85degrees and is a metre long. This will translate into great deal of difficulty in pulling the door shut once you have relaxed in one of the two nappa-leather seats that denote no less than a throne. The 62 does not call for such hard work and the door will pull shut all by itself. All you have to do is to operate a toggle switch situated in the roof! Designed to accommodate only two occupants at the rear, between the two seats is a thick centre console.

Call them seats or thrones, they are more flexible than a belly dancer. Like the ones in the business class of an aircraft the seats recline at the press of a button and are complete with a lower leg support and a footrest that fold out from underneath the seats! What more, a memory setting can store up to three individual seating positions. Press the pulse switch and the seat turns into a massage chair.

Air cushions in the lumbar region fill and empty at precisely defined intervals to give a back massage. Feeling cold or hot, there's a function to seek the desired climate setting. The entertainment system built into the centre console that also contains the foldable armrest is fitted with a DVD player, six-CD changer and a pair of jacks to help connect your camcorder or the MP3 player or a video game station. Two 9.5-inch TFT flat screens provide visual entertainment while the 600watt; 21-speaker sound system from BOSE gives aural presence at every seat.

Pull on the leather loop next to the centre console and a folding table will emerge. Maybach engineers in Sindfelfingen developed the folding table by painstakingly processing alumimium for each of the two seats. This should solve the last hurdle into turning the cabin of the Maybach into a mobile office. To further aid smooth functioning of the office, the surface of each table is split into two with the upper side trimmed with high quality wood.

Pull out the centre armrest and a couple of telephones stacked underneath will help you stay in touch with the world outside. Below them is the refrigerator. To maintain the desired climate in the cabin there is a highly-efficient four-zone automatic climate control system with two separate compressors and no less than ten outlets.

There are ten airbags at the rear and a sunroof that is fantastically engineered. The rear section of the roof is made of two thick panes of glass with an electric sliding liner in between. Press a button and the liner slides out of site, exposing the liquid crystal membrane, which normally gives out white light. Press yet another button, and the crystals in the plastic membrane re-arrange to turn the glass transparent.

On the 62 there is a sliding glass, which rises up to compartmentalise the rear. The already silent cabin turns into a silent chamber, perfect for an important conference! Want to relax in the silent environment? Stow that wristwatch away or its ticking will prove louder than any other soound in the cabin. Any conversation with the driver and his co-passenger is via the intercom.

Also, unless you register the scenery blurring by, there is no way you can get any idea of the speed. Need not worry as one of the three dials jutting out of the roof display speed. Riding in the back seat of the Maybach is indeed like flying in a luxury craft. Its Rs five crore-price tag does elevate the 62 to that level.

And like a luxury aircraft, under the right foot of the driver rests power paralleled by very few. Matter of envy? Well! There is a lot for the driver to do. Other than the task of steering a limo that is no less than 6.2 metres long there is an array of seemingly endless switches, which he has to take care of.

The 5.5-litre, V12, twin-turbo motor is at the front with the drive going to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission. It generates 550bhp and an outstanding 92kgm of torque! Fairly close to the 112kgm of torque generated by the 7-litre diesel engine of thee Volvo B7R bus and far more than the Tata 1210's engine ever generates.

If these figures hint at a strong activity, all of it is done utter silence. Thus, floor the throttle and the car leaps ahead. The 2780kg-kerb weight of the car feels like nothing as the rush of power to the rear wheels has the effect of pushing the passengers deep into their seats. There is no turbo-lag as the twin turbos go about doing their work in fascinating unison. A mere invisible push and the Speedo needle catapults towards the three-digit territory and in next-to-no-time digs deep into it.

This is the magic of Maybach for those interested in power. You almost desire for a take-off but instead the Maybach tears through the wind in a graceful gallop. The 62 can top 250kph and accelerate from 0 to 100kph in 5.4seconds according to the company.

A perfect balance of classic and contemporary, you may say. The Maybach, however, manages most functions with great ease. No fuss whatsoever.

A large turning circle is what makes the driver aware of the car's length. Otherwise, the 62, from behind the steering wheel feels like any other automobile. Visibility is good and the driving position, though a bit cramped in the 62, spot-on. Ride, courtesy the Airmatic DC (dual control) system, is akin to riding on a magic carpet. Set to soft, the big limo does wallow around like its American cousins, namely the Lincoln. Set to hard, the limo earns a great deal on the handling front.

Emphasis however is on ride even though at any given instance handling is not at all bad. In fact, it can catch you by surprise as the car displays agility expected of cars much smaller and lighter than the Maybach.

To say the least, the Maybach 62 comes across as a car that is keen to take the German invasion into the territory dominated by British marques, Rolls-Royce and Bentleys. Ironically, both these marques are today owned by German carmakers even if the cars continue to roll out the facilities in England.

The Maybach more than makes up with the British marques all the while adding to the aura of the Mercedes family. Most of all the Maybach succeeds in whispering opulence and power into the ears of those travelling in it as well as those who watch it pass by. What more could one ask for at Rs five crores?