Stuttgart, Germany - Maybach, the super-luxury arm of DaimlerChrysler, is adding a model to its line-up in time for September's Frankfurt auto show, the 57 Spezial with a six-litre, V12, biturbo engine that's been worked over by AMG to develop 450kW and give handling and performance more usually associated with high-end sports cars.
It's a tribute to the wizards at AMG that a limousine more usually seen in a royal drive-past or parked outside Tiffany's gem store has been made capable of tempting owner-drivers seeking the very latest high-performance technology implemented in a manner that embodies what Mercedes calls "the perfection characteristic of the brand".
"A rest-100km/h acceleration time of only five seconds," the company says, "provides impressive proof of the outstanding performance offered by the new Maybach 57 S."
The car also has a suspension system firmer than its sister machines: "This ensures that it is able to transfer this formidable power to the road sure-footedly yet without compromising the extremely high level of ride comfort that is a hallmarks of Maybach luxury saloons.
"This combination makes the Maybach 57 S the ideal high-end luxury saloon."
The body-and-finish people have also weighed in with their contribution: an exclusive monochrome silver or black paint finish, a modified front section with an enhanced radiator grille and revised headlights, a discreet "57 S" badge below each A-pillar and on the boot lid and striking new 20" spoked rims.
This classy skin treatment is continued in the cabin where "a carefully balanced combination of piano lacquer and carbon elements - especially in the areas within the driver's reach and immediate field of view - creates an atmosphere of dynamic elegance".
If you're in Germany from November, you can take an up close and personal look at the new Maybach 57 S at Mercedes' Centre of Excellence in Sindelfingen.
Also on show at Frankfurt will be a Maybach 57 for which the specialists at the Manufaktur have developed a paint finish identical to that of the Maybach "Zeppelin" model of 1933.
And, although the two vehicles were manufactured almost 75 years apart, they share not only the same paint finish but also the same interior appointments and even the same chassis number.
Maybach customers can, of course, also afford those personalisation touches that could buy the rest of us a modest house in, say, Clifton. Such as trim elements finished in gold and precious stones, gold keys, family coats-of-arms and various forms of intricate inlay work.
Maybach attained the ultimate in individualisation with the stunning Exelero Sports Coupé that was built as a one-off, commissioned by tyre manufacturer Fulda and capable of more than 350km/h.