Elite Traveler July-August 2017

Mercedes-Benz GERMANY, 1886

THE MERCEDES-MAYBACH S600 IN NUMBERS Price from $191,300 Engine 6.0-liter V12 biturbo Power 523hp 0-62mph 5.0 seconds

By comparison with Mercedes-Benz, most car companies are mere infants, for its history can be traced all the way back to 1886 when engineer Karl Benz invented the world’s very first car. The first Mercedes car went on sale in 1901. Today the company produces no less than 17 model ranges of car, from the compact A-Class to the ultra-high performance AMG GT. Mercedes-Benz also manufactures vans, trucks and buses and owns Smart, a sub brand that manufacturers the Smart fortwo, Smart fortwo cabrio and Smart forfour city cars. mercedes-benz.com 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut Coupe’ CLASSIC British racing driver Sir StirlingMoss may never have won the Formula 1 World Championship, but in 1955 he conducted what is regarded as one of the greatest drives of all time —winning the grueling 992-mile ItalianMille Miglia road race at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR roadster at an average speed of 98mph. The following year, two coupe versions of the eight-cylinder 302bhp car were produced. They were never raced but the company’s chief tester Rudolf Uhlenhaut commuted to work in one. Given the 300 SLR’s maximum speed of 180mph, he was presumably always home in time for dinner. Maybach S600 MODERN Designed to win over customers from Bentley and Rolls-Royce, the stretched Mercedes-Maybach S600 is the most luxurious model to carry the German company’s three-pointed star. The driving, of course, is best left to the chauffeur. While you may feel the exceptional power of the 6.0-liter V12 engine as you recline in the ultra sumptuous, exceedingly roomy rear compartment, you won’t hear it, so exceptionally hushed is the car’s interior. The S600 even comes with its own ionized air Agarwood fragrance piped in, and is offered with optional rear fold out tables plus a refrigerated compartment large enough to hold three bottles of champagne.

Mercedes-Maybach S600

Porsche GERMANY, 1948

In 2016 the 27,612 employees who work for Porsche built and delivered a record 237,778 vehicles. The Stuttgart-based company, which is now a key player in the Volkswagen Group, also secured its 18th victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours race. The company was set up by a father and son team, both named Ferdinand Porsche, with Porsche junior also known as Ferry. With 200 workers, they began producing the first 356 model at a rate of five cars per month. Prior to that Ferdinand senior developed the world’s first hybrid vehicle in 1898, and in 1935 he designed the first prototype Volkswagen Beetle. porsche.com

911 CLASSIC

The Porsche 911 began life as the 901 concept in 1963, before the name was changed. Five decades later, the 911 is still going strong, with the most powerful 911 Turbo S producing 580hp, a giant leap from 130hp of the original. And yet both cars are inextricably linked not only by their sensuous styling, but also by the brief set by Ferry Porsche for the original: “The 911 is the only car you could drive on an African safari or at Le Mans, to the theater or through New York City traffic.” Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo MODERN The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo is a five-door shooting brake version of the Panamera four-door sedan, which will go on sale this fall with prices starting from $150,000. Greater practicality is one of the key attributes of the Sport Turismo, and it offers far more stowage space over its sedan sibling. And there’s more room for people too, with the rear bench now offered with three seats. The rear seats can be folded down individually or all together to provide 49 cubic feet of luggage space. All models are equipped with all-wheel drive and the range-topping Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo boasts a 542hp, 4.0-liter V8 turbocharged engine.

Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo

Porsche 911