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Maybach Museum
Welcome to the Virtual Museum: An educational portal that tells you the story of the groundbreaking developments of Wilhelm and Karl Maybach. Learn and discover how they advanced mobility ‘in the air, in water and by land’ – innovations which have shaped the world of transportation until today. For inquiries and questions please contact museum@maybach.org.
History
Maybach history Event
WORLD History Event
Maybach DNA Expression
© Stadtarchiv Heilbronn
Wilhelm Maybach in his wedding portrait, 1878
1846 - 1882
Wilhelm Maybach’s early steps from being an orphan to becoming technical director
Along the early stages of his path Wilhelm Maybach met people that turned out to be essential for his later successes, namely Gustav Werner, who realized the talent he had, and Gottlieb Daimler, who recognized Wilhelm’s constructive ingenuity.
© Daimler AG
Baron Henry de Rothschild's 35-horsepower Mercedes Simplex racing car at the Nice-La Turbie hill climb, 'Week of Nice' March 29, 1901
1882 - 1909
How Wilhelm Maybach shaped mobility and earned the title ‘king of designers’
His developments ended up having a global impact on the effecitivity of the combustion engine and thereby on mobility in general – earning him the title ‘king of designers’ at age 43.
© Wilhelm and Karl Maybach Foundation and Michael Schwab Studio
The Airship, part of the 'Maybach Powered' Series designed by Michael Schwab
1909 – 1918
Karl Maybach making a name of his own and reaching new heights
Karl Maybach helped the airships which Count Zeppelin had conceptualized fly reliably with his high performance engines. Firstly starting out in Bissingen Enz his developments later turned Friedrichshafen to another essential cradle of engine development besides Cannstatt.
© Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-14151 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
The express railcar 'Flying Hamburger' before its first test run to Hamburg at Lehrter Station in Berlin, 1933
1918 – 1933
Establishing a new brand name and claiming new markets
Maybach Motor Works, as a newly established brand name entered the stage under the adverse conditions of collapsed markets. Nevertheless the following years saw the first Maybach car in 1921 and the first train equipped with fast running diesel engines.
© Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG/ MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH
Advertisement of Maybach Motor Works from 1931, published in the magazine 'Motor'
1933 – 1945
Breakthroughs and two-edged Successes
Propulsion and gears for trains had become essential for Maybach Engine Works from 1924 onwards. The 1930s saw further breakthroughs and speed records with the so called ‘flying trains’. The technological advances in high performances engines made Maybach Engine works the essential supplier for the German Army’s track driven vehicles.
© Eisenbahnstiftung
The V 60 shunter locomotive using a Maybach GTO 6 type engine
1945 – 1969
Maybach Motor works rising from the ashes and taking on a new form
The German Post-War period started out from a grim perspective to a baby boom, the so called Wirtschaftswunder. The story of Maybach Engine works very much is part of this trajectory. Nevertheless a merger with other big players of engine manufacturing became necessary at the end of the 1960s.
© Daimler AG
The Maybach 62 S, first presented in 2006
1969 – 2020
From being present in the background to regaining world recognition
For some time Maybach had turned to a name for those in the know about quality, enthusiasts such as a circle of collectors of historic Maybach vehicles. The early 2000s the a saw revival of the brand name by Mercedes who managed to revitalize the heritage of Maybach automobiles with new models.
