Perfume dispensers are just one of the fancy extras Mercedes-Benz is installing in its Zeppelins, says Alastair Sloane
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The limited-edition Maybach Zeppelin will literally offer its mega-rich buyers the sweet smell of success - an optional perfume dispenser that releases a fragrance.
The dispenser is among a variety of high-end equipment designed to make life inside the luxury limo a gas.
Champagne flutes, a screen on long-wheelbase models, diamond-quilted seat covers and lambskin carpets are also part of the package.
Mercedes-Benz will build 100 Zeppelins, to be delivered by September. The carmaker will unveil the spearhead of its luxury line-up at next month's Geneva motor show.
The dispenser is a plexiglass sphere on the rear centre console, into which Zeppelin owners can insert a vial of their preferred fragrance.
A regulator pump then fans the vial's perfume into the car's interior.
The atomiser can be activated either from the driver's seat or by a button in the rear console, with an additional thumbwheel in the rear for sensitive aroma control. On models with a partition screen, only the passengers in the rear are able to activate the atomiser.
The aroma experts took the human sense of smell into consideration when designing the control mechanism. As the nose adjusts to smells in such a way that it no longer perceives them, the perfume atomiser switches off after about 10 minutes.
The system comes supplied with two select fragrances, exclusively developed for the Maybach by Givaudan: one light and refreshing, the other slightly heavier and woodier. Zeppelin owners can also use other fragrances.
The dispenser is a $10,000 option - small change on a limo listed at around $1 million for the Maybach 57 and $1.2 million for the long-wheelbase Maybach 62 Zeppelin.
Based on the "S" version of the standard-wheelbase 57 and long-wheelbase 62 models, the Zeppelin boosts the power of the tweaked twin-turbo 6-litre V12 petrol engine from 450kW to 471kW, while torque remains the same at 1000Nm.
Exterior changes are subtle, extending to 12-inch chrome-finish alloy wheels, more streamlined door mirrors for reduced wind noise, darkened tail-lights, special two-tone paintwork and the word "Zeppelin" inscribed under the Maybach emblem.
The original Maybach company was formed in 1909, supplying engines for Germany's aircraft and rail industries.
It spread into automobile making from 1921-40, using the Zeppelin nomenclature from about 1930-37 for its 12-cylinder DS 7 and DS 8 flagship models.
