Maybach Logo: The Double M That Began With Zeppelins

Before it built a single car, Maybach built engines for Count Zeppelin's airships. Its double M emblem dates back to 1918.

Country: Germany
Active: 1909
Founded by: Wilhelm Maybach and Karl Maybach
Website: Official website ↗

Born to power airships

Maybach didn’t start with cars. It started with Zeppelins. On 23 March 1909, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH was founded in Bissingen an der Enz to build engines for Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin’s airships. Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl were behind it, and according to Mercedes-Benz, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH was the biggest shareholder. Karl became technical director and designed the airship engines himself.

Wilhelm was no newcomer. Born in Heilbronn in 1846, he had met Gottlieb Daimler in 1867 and became the designer at his side, and their Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft is one of the roots of today’s Mercedes-Benz. Over 1911 and 1912 the young engine company moved to Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. On 18 May 1918 it took the family name: Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH.

From engines to the “German Rolls Royce”

After the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles banned aircraft construction in Germany. Maybach needed something else to build. In autumn 1921, at the Berlin motor show, it presented its first car, the Type W 3. It was the first German car with brakes on all four wheels, and according to MTU, the company’s successor, it earned the status of the “German Rolls Royce”.

Maybach supplied the complete chassis, engine and gearbox included. Coachbuilders made the bodies. By the time car production stopped in 1941, about 1,800 six and twelve cylinder cars had left Friedrichshafen. The company turned to engines again, and in 1960 Daimler-Benz took a majority stake, brand rights included. In 1969 the business became MTU.

Two Ms in an arched triangle

The badge is almost as old as the family name on the company. According to Mercedes-Benz, when the firm became Maybach-Motorenbau in 1918, its logo was a double M inside an arched triangle. Between 1921 and 1941 it adorned some very special cars.

Mercedes-Benz brought the double M back in 2002 with the revived Maybach brand, and it now says the emblem has come to signify the pinnacle of technical innovation and sophisticated luxury. On today’s Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the Maybach brand logo sits on the C-pillar, while the MAYBACH wordmark is built into the chrome surround of the grille. In some countries the logo is even illuminated.

What do the two Ms stand for? A popular explanation says Maybach-Motorenbau, and later Maybach Manufaktur, the name of the unit that built the revived cars. It sounds neat, but it doesn’t appear in the Mercedes-Benz explanations used for this page, which describe the shape and not the letters.

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Zeppelins on wheels, and what came after

Wilhelm Maybach’s maxim, in Mercedes-Benz’s words, was to create the best of all from the very best. The cars wearing the double M have tried to live up to that, across two very different lives.

Landmark Maybachs, decade by decade

1921: Maybach W 3. The first Maybach car and the first German car with four-wheel brakes, shown at the Berlin motor show.
1929: Maybach 12. Launched late in the year as the brand’s first twelve-cylinder model.
1930: Zeppelin DS 8. From 1930 the top models carried the Zeppelin name. The DS 8 had an eight-litre twelve-cylinder engine.
1940: Maybach SW 42. A swing-axle model built until 1941, when car production in Friedrichshafen ended.
1997: Maybach study. A luxury saloon concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, with which Mercedes-Benz revived the Maybach tradition.
2002: Maybach 57 and 62. The first new Maybach models, built by Maybach Manufaktur.
2014: Mercedes-Maybach S 600. Unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show, bringing Maybach back as part of Mercedes-Benz.

Today Maybach lives inside Mercedes-Benz as Mercedes-Maybach, its most luxurious line. Its natural rivals are the British grandees Rolls-Royce and Bentley. For more on how emblems like this one come together, see how car logos are designed, or browse more classic car logos.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Maybach logo look like?

It is a double M inside an arched triangle. According to Mercedes-Benz, the company used it from 1918, when it was renamed Maybach-Motorenbau.

Who founded Maybach?

Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl. The company was founded on 23 March 1909 as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH, with Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin’s airship company as its biggest shareholder.

Is Maybach owned by Mercedes-Benz?

Yes. Daimler-Benz took a majority stake and the brand rights in 1960. Mercedes-Benz revived the name in 2002, and since 2014 its most luxurious cars have been sold as Mercedes-Maybach.

When was the first Maybach car built?

The first Maybach car, the W 3, was presented at the Berlin motor show in 1921. It was the first German car with brakes on all four wheels.