Maybach Exelero

Maybach Exelero at a glance

According to the old 1cars text, the cooperation between Fulda and Maybach goes back to the 1930s, when a Maybach was used to test high-speed tyres beyond 200 km/h. The 1938 Maybach SW 38 streamliner influenced the initial design of the new car. For the 2005 project, Fulda set the target of a top speed above 350 km/h, which required a large, very powerful and stable car. The story of the brand is told in the history of Maybach, and its models are in the Maybach catalogue.

Student design and Stola build

The Exelero's design began with a student project. Wikipedia credits the final design to four students from Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences, while the car's data names Fredrik Burchhardt as designer; the old 1cars text describes a design competition won by a 24-year-old student. Stola turned the design into a running car.

The result is a long, low two-door coupé painted black, with a long bonnet, a large chrome grille, narrow, angled headlights and a tapering rear in the style of 1930s streamliners. A diffuser is integrated into the rear. At 5,834 mm long and 2,121 mm wide, it is far larger than typical supercars, and its proportions emphasise the Maybach heritage rather than sportiness.

Two-seat leather cabin

The cabin seats two. It combines dark and red leather with neoprene, glossy black carbon fibre and aluminium accents, and the sports seats have red harness-style belts. According to the old 1cars text, many interior parts follow the pattern of the Maybach 57 and 62 saloons, which gives the coupé a familiar luxury layout despite its racing seats.

Engine, gearbox and performance

The Maybach V12 was developed from the engine of the Maybach saloons, which the old 1cars text puts at about 600 hp before the Exelero's modifications. With 1,020 Nm available from 2,500 rpm, the engine has enough torque to move the heavy car to a theoretical 351 km/h.

Dimensions, wheels and brakes

The car uses vented brake discs at the front and rear with ABS. The old 1cars text quotes 376 mm front and 355 mm rear discs with eight- and six-piston callipers, and fuel use of about 16 litres per 100 km.

Exelero timeline

Why the Exelero is so heavy and so big

With a kerb weight of 2,730 kg and a wheelbase of almost 3.4 metres, the Exelero is far heavier and longer than conventional supercars. The reason is its origin: it uses the platform of the Maybach 57 luxury saloon, which was designed for comfort and refinement rather than low weight. Fulda's goal was to test its tyres at more than 350 km/h, and the 23-inch wheels with 315-section tyres show the scale of that test.

Owners and appearances

After its tyre-testing role, the Exelero became a show car. Top Gear reported in 2011 that the rapper Birdman had bought it, but this was never confirmed, and in January 2012 the German programme Motorvision profiled the car while it was owned by the company Mechatronik and described the sale rumours as unfounded. Today it is displayed at a car museum in Germany as part of the Friedhelm Loh collection.

The Exelero appeared in Jay-Z's music video "Lost One", in an episode of the German TV series Alarm für Cobra 11 and in the anime Nisekoi. In 2007 Stola introduced the Phalcon, a two-door coupé inspired by the Exelero.

The Exelero and the Maybach brand

The Exelero was built when Maybach existed as a separate luxury brand within DaimlerChrysler, selling the large 57 and 62 saloons such as the Maybach 57S. The stand-alone brand was later wound down, and Mercedes-Benz relaunched the name as Mercedes-Maybach, starting with the Mercedes-Maybach S600.

Rivals: how the Exelero compared

As a one-off test car, the Exelero had no direct rivals. In performance terms it sat close to the hypercars of its time, such as the Bugatti Veyron, but it weighed over 2.7 tonnes and was designed as a luxury grand tourer rather than a lightweight sports car. Its strengths were its enormous torque, its unique design and its tyre-testing pedigree; its weaknesses were its weight and the fact that only one was ever built.