Press Release - 16 February 2004

WHEELS OF GOOD FORTUNE
Serious style and serious luxury - at serious expense

Experience the ultimate in chauffeur-driven
opulence: ride in the exclusive Maybach 62

Billy Graham once asked Steve McQueen what his religion was.  The King of Cool pierced the evangelist with those dazzling blue eyes and replied:
"It's the sun in the sky, the grass in the desert, my wife and kids - and my wheels."

McQueen was a man who knew a bit about cars - he raced them semi-pro, and collected the finest, fastest and most expensive of them for fun -
and had he been alive today you can bet your bottom dollar he'd have had his name down on the list fora Maybach.

Amongst the motoring cognoscenti the Maybach marque is spoken of with the same reverence and appreciation with which a jeweller talks of Fabergé, or a violinist Stradivarius.  Some cars inspire religious devotion in their owners, but not many can be said to inspire awe:  such a car is the Maybach.

More BHP for your bucks
It's hard to know where to start when describing this extraordinary car's specification and features, although perhaps a good place is where McQueen himself might have started - the engine:  a 550bhp Bi-turbo 5.5 litre V12, the most powerful in any production car in the world.

Admittedly, travelling in a Maybach 62 (there are two models, the 57 and the 62, and it is the larger 62 that Royal Silver Service will be operating) is more about comfort and style than raw speed - but should you wish your driver to emulate Michael Schumacher, the car can be away from the lights and up to 60mph in a whisper over 5 seconds.  (And indeed, whispering to your travelling companion won't be a problem in this vehicle, even at motorway speeds - the AirMATIC DC air suspension, automatic transmission and overall soundproofing ensure engine and wind noise is kept to a barely-detectable minimum.)

Big, bold and beautiful
Aesthetically-speaking, the Maybach is in a class of its own, the elegant, flowing lines of its flawlessly finished exterior giving it a classical yet timeless look.  Real beauty always turns heads, and as you glide past the crowds - at that exclusive restaurant, hotel or film premiere perhaps - be prepared for plenty of head turning.

The interior is just as beautiful.  Step into the Maybach 62 and you step into another world, a world where every conceivable comfort has been attended to.  Surrounded by Grand Nappa leather seats and finest wood panelling, you find your feet sinking into the deepest of deep-pile carpets, your environment precisely controlled by the individually-tailored air conditioning systems.

Every luxury you could wish for is at hand - including DVD player, flat-screen television, state-of-the-art sound system, minibar, refrigerated compartment and cordless telephone with two handsets.  There's even a magnetic bottle holder, plus champagne flute holders designed to keep your drink in place - even under maximum cornering force.

Then of course there's the space.  The Maybach 62 is a big car, 1.57m high and 6.17m long in fact, with enough space in the passenger compartment to house a Mini.  Each of the two electronically-controlled rear seats (modelled in part on those in the NASA space shuttle and Air France's first class cabins) reclines almost flat, and with this amount of legroom even a basketball legend like Shaquille O'Neal can stretch out in comfort. 

Feeling famous
"Celebrity" is something of a devalued currency these days, with every Tom, Dick and Jordan seemingly getting their fifteen minutes in Andy Warhol's prophetic spotlight somewhere or other.  Not with Maybach.  Being a famous name won't jump you to the head of this queue, as Maybach never loan out vehicles, and test drives are rarer than hens' teeth (sorry Mr McQueen).

It's true that the Maybach 62 really does have star quality - almost literally:  Royal Silver Service's vehicle comes with an electro-transparent panoramic glass roof that provides a continuous glass area from the windscreen to the rear window.  But if privacy is your priority, that isn't a problem. the roof panel can be rendered transparent or opaque - at the touch of a button.

An experience only money can buy.
Such is the exclusivity of the Maybach - only 700 or so in total for the two models will be produced annually for the worldwide market - most people will be lucky even to see one, let alone own or ride in one.  (And owning a Maybach 62 of your own, incidentally, would set you back the small matter of around £300,000.)

There is, of course, one other way you can get to ride in one - by hiring it from Royal Silver Service, the UK's sole official Maybach chauffeur hire company.  Whether you want to see or be seen, the Maybach 62 is the ultimate mode of transport - an experience only money can buy!  A cathedral on wheels. Steve McQueen would have been proud.

*   *   *

Royal Silver Service is now taking advance bookings (for mid-June onwards - just in time for the Summer social season) for their sumptuous silver Maybach 62.

The car, which is based in central London, can be transported anywhere in the U.K. for that very special occasion.  Call 08701 993910 - orfor more information, visit the RSS website at www.royalsilverservice.co.uk.   

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Serious entrepreneurs

Take a look at the Royal Silver Service website - www.royalsilverservice.co.uk - and you'll see it exudes a class, style and ambition that typify the company, qualities that helped influence DaimlerChrsyler UK (Maybach's "parent company") into granting them exclusive executive chauffeur hire rights to the Maybach 62.

Royal Silver Service is owned and operated by three entrepreneurs, Steve Bernard (64) and his two nephews Adam (31) and Mark O'Gilvie (28).  Adam is Sales & Marketing Director, and came to the business from a background in management and computer consultancy.  It was he and Steve who found themselves negotiating with DaimlerChrysler to spend over £300K on a single car. 

Says Adam: "We were aware of the significant risk in investing such a large amount of money in one car - but we were looking for a USP, something to set us apart from the competition.  I think DaimlerChrysler was impressed with that commitment, and of course, there's a natural synergy inasmuch as our existing fleet was already Mercedes exclusive. 

No competition
The Maybach 62, Adam points out, is designed to seat four people (two in the front, two in the rear) travelling in ultimate comfort and safety.  And with no less than 10 separate adaptive airbags and integral comfort-fit seat belts, this car is very comfortable and very safe.  But what of the car's perceived rivals - after all, aren't some "stretch-limos" bigger overall inside?  Well, in truth there is simply no comparison, with any other car.  (By way of example, the top-of-the-range Bentley Arnage has a price tag around half that of the Maybach 62.)

As RSS's Chief Executive Steve Bernard confirms: "Truly discerning customers will instinctively recognise the gulf in class between the Maybach and something like a stretch limo.  Stretch limos have their market, naturally, but when it's absolute comfort, absolute discretion, absolute style you want, the Maybach has no equal."

Reach for the stars
As you might expect, the Maybach experience doesn't come cheap.  But nevertheless, Adam is bullish about the family threesome's  prospects in this direction.

"Our customers get what they pay for" he explains.  "They see that we're expensive, and that leads them to expect a high quality, totally confidential, reliable and caring service - which is exactly what they get.  And by hiring the Maybach, of course, they're buying into a very exclusive club." 

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NOTE TO JOURNALISTS AND BROADCASTERS

Silver Dream Machine
Royal Silver Service's silver Maybach 62 is currently being hand-built in Germany. 

The company will take delivery during the early part of June 2004, but in the meantime, photography can be arranged with another vehicle, in central London.

All pics in this press release are available in high res. Please call 01494 684353.

WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU

For more information, high res. pics, to organise photography, or to interview
Adam O'Gilvie, Sales & Marketing Director, or Stephen Bernard,
Chief Executive at Royal Silver Service please contact:

Ms Ray Hodges MCAM MIPR
HPS Group - 01494 684353 (D/L), 0790 9925576 (mobile)
or email

Issued by: HPS-PR, Park House, Desborough Park Road, High Wycombe, Bucks  HP12 3DJ
Tel: 01494 684300   Fax: 01494 440952