Maybach Zeppelin DS 8

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Maybach
Maybach DS 8 Cabriolet
Maybach DS 8 Cabriolet
Zeppelin DS 8
Production period: 1930-1940
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Limousine , Pullman limousine , cabriolet
Engines: Gasoline engines :
8.0 liters (147 kW)
Length: 5370-5500 mm
Width: 1845 mm
Height: 1800 mm
Wheelbase : 3660-3735 mm
Empty weight : 2800-3000 kg
Previous model Maybach 12

The Maybach Zeppelin DS 8 are luxury- class cars with twelve-cylinder V-engines, which were built in numerous variants from 1930 to 1940 by Maybach-Motorenbau in Friedrichshafen / Bodensee.

Model history

Maybach DS8 Zeppelin
Dashboard of a Maybach Zeppelin DS 8
The rear of the DS-8 convertible
Maybach Zeppelin with streamlined body by Spohn at the 1933 automobile exhibition

With the luxury brand Maybach of the 1930s, buyers had almost all options to have their vehicle "bodyworked" according to their individual requirements and personal style.

The vehicles had a "double overdrive gearbox" (DSG) with a vacuum-operated preselector. In this semi-automatic mode, the gear could be selected with two levers on the steering column. When releasing the accelerator, it engaged without using the clutch.

The vehicle was equipped, among other things, with an odometer, fuel meter for the 135-liter tank, 8-day clock , cooling water temperature display, oil manometer, vacuum meter for the servo brake, starter injection device, starter push button, hand throttle and starter flap actuation, instrument lighting . Additional equipment included two spare wheels, a Bosch horn, stop and reversing lights, four built-in jacks and a small compressor for inflating the tires.

The name

A brochure of the time provides information about the origin of the name Zeppelin for the top models of the Maybach brand:

“The type designation 'Zeppelin' was chosen to express externally that the twelve-cylinder Maybach was designed on the basis of experience with the Maybach Zeppelin airship engines. A name as a symbol for the principles according to which Maybach cars are built: to create only the best from the best, of lasting value, in the highest form of perfection. … As the embodiment of the high-quality travel and representation car - as well as a classy type for the passionate sportsman - the 'Maybach Zeppelin' is the automobile of the last wish fulfillment with a distinctive character of noble elegance and power. "

- Maybach prospectus, 1934

Technical specifications

Engine compartment
Parameters Data
engine V12 light alloy, 60 ° cylinder angle, crankshaft with 8 plain bearings
Bore / stroke 92/100 mm; Light alloy pistons
Displacement 7922 cc
compression 1: 6.3
power 147 kW (200 PS) at 3200 rpm
cylinder exchangeable cast iron bushings
Valves Inlet / outlet valve hanging; 1 camshaft with 7 bearings
Carburetor 2 Solex double stage carburetors
cooling Water cooling / pump, thermostatic cooler, blinds
frame U-profile, steel press frame
feathers long semi-elliptical springs, in wide sliding shoes on steel rollers, hydraulic, double-acting shock absorbers
Front axle Fist axis in double-T profile made of chrome-nickel steel
Rear axle Rigid axle with light alloy steel axle carrier
steering Flutter-proof screw steering, left or right as desired
Foot brake Vacuum servo brake, acting mechanically on all four wheels
bikes Steel discs or wire spokes, 2 spare wheels
tires Medium pressure, DT rim, 7 × 20 and 7.5 × 20
coupling Two-disc dry clutch
transmission Maybach double high-speed gearbox types DSG 80 / SRG, five to seven noiseless gears
arrangement inserted into the cardan thrust tube
Number of gears 5-7 forward; 1 backwards
drive about rear wheels
wheelbase 3.66-3.735 m
Gauge front / rear 1.52 m
length over everything including bumpers 5.37–5.5 m
Width / height over fenders 1.82 m / approx. 1.80 m
Weights Chassis 1900–2110 kg, trolley approx. 2800–3000 kg, payload 790–990 kg
V max approx. 160 km / h, depending on the structure and translation
consumption approx. 28 liters / 100 km
Oil consumption approx. 0.4 liters / 100 km
tank in the rear, 135 liters, 2 fuel pumps

description

The operation of the vehicle when starting, shifting while driving and parking, as well as when using the overdrive which is integrated in the transmission, corresponds to the Maybach Zeppelin DS 7 , except that the DS 8 had one more gear in the semi-automatic transmission.

From 1938 the vehicle was also available with a seven-speed manual gearbox from ZF Friedrichshafen , which was also available as a semi-automatic preselector. The driver set the desired gear on a lever next to the steering wheel, and the gear shift was triggered automatically by tapping the clutch. This enabled the powerful engine to be used to support the braking effect by downshifting.

literature

Web links

Commons : Maybach Zeppelin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Harry Niemann: Karl Maybach and his automobiles . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-02457-8 , p. 110.