Right now, the Mercedes-Maybach brand is setting the Indian luxury car market on fire. From Bollywood celebrities to young business tycoons, everyone wants a piece of the ultra-luxury Maybach S-Class or the locally assembled Maybach GLS SUV. But while these cars are a symbol of ultimate wealth on Indian roads today, there is one Maybach that stands far above the rest. It is the Mercedes-Maybach Exelero.

Unlike the cars you see at your local Mercedes-Benz dealership, the Exelero is not something you can just walk in and buy. It is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that looks like it belongs in a Batman movie.

Let us dive deep into what makes the Mercedes-Maybach Exelero so special, how much it costs in Indian rupees, who actually owns it, and why this legendary car still captures the imagination of car lovers in India and around the world.

What is the Mercedes-Maybach Exelero?

The Mercedes-Maybach Exelero is a high-performance, custom-built sports car. It was revealed to the world back in 2005. Surprisingly, Mercedes-Benz did not build this car just to show off its design skills. The car was actually commissioned by Fulda, a German tire company owned by Goodyear.

Fulda had developed a brand-new high-performance tire called the Carat Exelero. They needed a vehicle powerful and heavy enough to test these tires at extreme speeds safely. So, they teamed up with DaimlerChrysler (the parent company of Maybach at the time) to build a custom machine.

The design was created by students at a transportation design school in Germany, and the car was built by an Italian coachbuilder named Stola. The result was a massive, two-seater luxury coupe that perfectly blended 1930s classic elegance with modern, aggressive supercar looks. Because only one unit was ever made, it instantly became one of the rarest cars on the planet.

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Mercedes-Maybach Exelero Price in India

When we talk about the price of the Exelero, the numbers are truly mind-bending. The car was originally valued at around $8 million. If we convert that to Indian currency today, it comes out to roughly ₹66 Crores.

However, that is just a straight conversion. If an Indian billionaire actually wanted to import a car of this value into India, the heavy import duties and local taxes on luxury vehicles would push the price way past the ₹100 Crore mark.

But money alone cannot buy this car. Because it is a “one-off” concept vehicle, there is no factory making more of them. You cannot order it, no matter how much wealth you have. This exclusivity is exactly why the car remains a hot topic whenever people discuss the most expensive cars in the world.

Who Owns the Maybach Exelero?

The ownership history of the Exelero is full of celebrity rumors and internet gossip. For years, people debated who actually had the keys to this ₹66 Crore beast.

The car became a pop-culture icon when the famous American rapper Jay-Z featured it heavily in his music video for the song “Lost One” in 2006. Because of this, many fans assumed Jay-Z had bought it. Later, in 2011, another famous rapper named Birdman reportedly announced that he was buying the Exelero for $8 million. However, reports soon surfaced that the deal never officially went through.

So, where is the car today? After changing hands among a few private businessmen and collectors in Europe, the Maybach Exelero has finally settled down. It is currently resting in Germany as part of “The Loh Collection” at the Nationales Automuseum. Luckily, this means the car was not locked away in a secret garage forever, and visitors can actually go and see it in person.

Engine, Speed, and Crazy Features

To test tires at over 350 km/h, the Exelero needed an absolute monster of an engine. The engineers at Maybach took a V12 engine and increased its size to 5.9 liters, adding twin turbochargers.

This massive engine produces an incredible 700 horsepower. Even though the car is incredibly heavy, weighing in at over 2,600 kilograms, that engine is strong enough to push the car from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.4 seconds. During its testing phase in Italy, the Exelero successfully reached a top speed of 351 km/h, proving that the Fulda tires could handle extreme speeds without failing.

Inside, the car is just as wild as the outside. It features dark and red leather, glossy black carbon fiber, aluminum accents, and even race-style seatbelts.

Why Maybach is Trending in India Today

While Indians may only ever see the Exelero on their smartphone screens, the Maybach brand itself is seeing record-breaking success in the country.

Mercedes-Benz recently started assembling the ultra-luxury Maybach GLS SUV locally at its plant in Pune, Maharashtra. This “Make in India” move brought the price of the SUV down significantly, making it more attractive to wealthy buyers. Today, India is quickly becoming one of the top global markets for Mercedes-Maybach. Young entrepreneurs, tech startup founders, and celebrities are driving the demand, proving that the Indian appetite for personalized, top-tier luxury cars is bigger than ever.

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