This Is India's First Maybach, And It Was A 5 Crore Rupee Birthday Gift [Video]
The German ultra-luxury brand Maybach symbolises success and opulence. The younger generation might be more used to calling it Mercedes-Maybach, as Mercedes-Benz relaunched it as its own ultra-luxury sub-brand in 2015. Maybach started its India operations in 2004. The original Maybach 62 came with a long wheelbase and had a price of over Rs 5 Crores. Just three of these cars were ever sold in India. Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal, also known as India’s 'Gutkha baron', was the first one to buy the 62 here. It was, in fact, the birthday gift for his beloved daughter! The internet already has several videos of this car, shared by paparazzi and car enthusiasts.
In one of the videos, we see the car rolling through a small road in Mumbai. As it moves towards the camera, we get a detailed look at India's first 62. It is finished in the Nayarit Silver-mid Grey colour scheme. The large Chrome-clad grille, elegant alloy wheels, dual projector-beam headlamps (which even came with washers!), long wheelbase, and connected tail lamps can all be seen in the video. The car shows its age at some places of the design.
Another clip shows the car being filmed from a motorcycle that's riding parallel to it. Due to its rare nature and the famous owner, this Maybach gathers a lot of eyeballs on every outing. Back in time, people used to stare in awe, now they film and share online!
When the Gutkha baron acquired it, the 62 had a price of over 5 crore rupees in India. It was then the most expensive car on sale here. (Rolls-Royce wasn't available in India in 2004 ). Rasiklal bought it as a birthday gift for his daughter Janhavi R. Dhariwal. After the businessman's death in 2017, Janhavi took over the Manikchand empire. The Maybach is still with the family, as their treasured asset.
The 62, in its time, was the flagship in Maybach’s lineup. The interior was plush and came packed with features. It had an elegant White-Beige colour scheme, with a generous use of premium wood inserts. The feature list consisted of steering-mounted controls for infotainment and the instrument cluster, TV receiver, DVD player, refrigerator compartment, glass roof with integrated ambient lighting, and more.
The rear seats would pamper you a lot. These were ventilated, could recline, and even came with remote controls, massage function, and Maybach-spec mobile phones!
The Maybach 62 housed a 5.5 L twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine under its hood. It had an output of 550 bhp and 900 Nm, and came mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. The 62 had a Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) layout and could do the 0-100kph sprint in just 4.8 seconds.
In early 2000s, Maybach’s portfolio had just two models- the 57 and the 62. The former was for people who chose to drive in luxury, the latter for those who wanted to be chauffeured around in luxury.
Not many Maybachs were sold in the 2000s. Following months and years of poor sales, Daimler axed the standalone brand ‘Maybach’ in 2013. It, however, made a return in 2015, as a fully-owned luxury sub-brand under Mercedes Benz. The most opulent versions of the carmaker’s flagship models (the S Class, GLS, SL, and EQS) are sold under the brand now.
India's ultra-luxury and supercar spaces have changed a lot over the years. Now, the ultra-luxury segment has strong global players like Rolls Royce, Bentley, Maserati, and more. Supercars and sports cars from brands like Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Lotus etc are also on sale here. Most of these are finding takers as well. India's fast-growing Ultra High Net-worth Individual (UHNI) and High Net-worth Individual (HNI) crowd point to the possibility of these segments posting strong growth in the upcoming years as well.
If you have been following the luxury car scene in India, you’d already know who the second person to buy the 62 in India is... Vijay Mallya! His car is finished in a dual-tone colour scheme comprising Black and an elegant shade of Brown. Even on this car, you’ll see a tasteful use of Chrome.
After the businessman fled the country, the super-luxury car was seized by banks and auctioned off. Last year, this car had surfaced again in the used car market. Big Boy Toyz (BBT) had it for sale, videos of which were shared online.
Image source: Team Bhp
The whereabouts of the third Maybach are unclear at the time of writing. It seems to be hiding somewhere in North India. This car was originally owned by a Sadhu in Punjab. He reportedly received it as a gift from one of his disciples.
According to the local folklore, the guruji found the car parked outside his place one day. The keys were kept inside. He reportedly owned several other rare and expensive cars as well, most of which were received in gifts.
Some reports also suggest that the Daimler Chrysler of India also used to own one. We haven’t been able to verify this, though. Mukesh Ambani also had this sedan in his garage once. He, however, bought it in London, and not in India.