Like his father, Karl Maybach was a brilliant designer of engines and automobiles. During his childhood in Cannstatt he was exited by watching his father and Gottfried Daimler create the worlds first motorcycle and in the following year, their first horseless carriage; the Reitwagen, which his father drove at the unprecedented speed of 15 km/ph along the road to Unterturkheim.
By 1912 the company had moved to Friedrichshafen and control had been handed over to Karl. In 1921 he produced the Maybach W3 automobile, which became Germany’s premier luxury car. Every Maybach was unique and they were prized for their powerful engines and sophisticated transmissions, some, such as the legendary Zeppelin, costing as much as 50,000 Reichsmarks, enough in those days to buy 5 large family homes.
