The love of unique craftsmanship, clear aesthetics and timeless elegance unites Mercedes‑Maybach and the silver and yacht manufacturers Robbe & Berking. They share the ambition to design individualised products for connoisseurs of the extraordinary. To mark the 150th anniversary of the Flensburg silver manufactory, Mercedes-Maybach has created an exclusively refined S-Class model. Its design is based on the legendary SPHINX 12mR yacht, which was built in 1939 and became known as the “night-blue beauty” in the history of sailing yachts. It was the first classic wooden yacht that Robbe & Berking restored. This gave rise to the company's yacht shipyard, Robbe & Berking Classics, in 2008. The Mercedes-Maybach S 680 (combined energy consumption: 14.2-13.2 l/100 km | combined CO2 emissions: 323-300 g/km | CO2 class: G)[1] anniversary vehicle has the same colour scheme as the SPHINX: a two-tone paint finish consisting of nautical blue metallic in the upper section and MANUFAKTUR patagonia red bright in the lower section of the bodywork. They are separated by a filigree pinstripe in MANUFAKTUR opalite white metallic to match the yacht's white waterline.
“Like the yacht SPHINX, our exclusive Mercedes-Maybach S-Class anniversary vehicle epitomises craftsmanship, elegance and attention to detail. We congratulate Robbe & Berking on their anniversary and look forward to continuing our successful collaboration.”
Daniel Lescow, Head of Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-Benz Group AG
“This wonderful anniversary vehicle is another sign of the friendship that has long connected Maybach and Robbe & Berking. We are also united by shared passions: Craftsmanship, the finest materials and timelessly beautiful lines – on the road as well as on the water and on the table.”
Oliver Berking, Managing Director of Robbe & Berking GmbH
The interior of the one-off Mercedes-Maybach S-Class shines in Maybach MANUFAKTUR Exclusive nappa leather in crystal white with diamond quilting. The seats, headliner, door centre panels and storage compartment under the central display are upholstered in this fine material. Orion grey decorative stitching stands out against the white leather in selected areas – an analogy to a sail. Another elegant contrast is created by the exclusive wood walnut trim with light-coloured aluminium trim strips. They echo the look of a ship’s deck. The nappa leather cushions in the rear are also customised. The smooth, triangular side surface in silver grey pearl contrasts with the crystal white leather with diamond topstitching in orion grey and MAYBACH embossing. The design of the cushions is rounded off by piping in silver grey pearl nappa leather.
Other equipment highlights for ultimate comfort include electric comfort doors at the rear, MANUFAKTUR door sill trims with red illuminated MAYBACH lettering and the Burmester® high-end 4D surround sound system. Also on board are the MBUX high-end rear-seat entertainment system and a cooling compartment with two silver-plated champagne goblets from Robbe & Berking. Since 2002, the goblets from the silver manufacturer founded in 1874 have lent the Mercedes-Maybach models a special lustre. They are available on request and are becoming increasingly popular with customers. This exclusive Mercedes-Maybach S-Class has already been reserved for a customer and is therefore no longer available for sale.
The SPHINX belongs to the famous “12 Metre R class” (12mR yacht). The large and elegant yachts in this class were built from 1907 to 1987 and, as the premier class of sailing, sailed for the America's Cup from 1958 to 1987. They are the epitome of the classic yacht and the dream of every sailing enthusiast. However, they are significantly longer than 12 metres. The “12 Metre” designation is the result of the legendary “International Rule”, which the major sailing nations agreed on in 1906 for the construction of racing yachts.
The 21.48-metre-long SPHINX was built in 1939 by the Abeking & Rasmussen boatyard as a club ship for the North German Regatta Association (NRV) in Hamburg. She was the last of a series of ten 12-metre boats to be launched. She later changed hands several times and sailed under different names. For example, she served the German Navy under the name “Ostwind” from 1958 to 2004 as a training ship for officer candidates. Among other honours, she won the Blue Riband for the fastest yacht on the Flensburg Fjord nine times. In 2005, the passionate sailor Oliver Berking bought her together with two friends. With attention to detail and great passion, they restored the racing yacht according to the original plans. Under her original name SPHINX, they made the classic wooden yacht accessible to the sailing world again. In 2008, Oliver Berking founded the Robbe & Berking Classics yacht shipyard in Flensburg’s city harbour in order to preserve and continue to use the expertise gained. This shipyard has developed into a globally sought-after specialist for the restoration of classic sailing yachts and the construction of faithful replicas of lost classic boats.