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The very idea of motoring was born as a luxury indulgence. In the early years of the 20th century, when motoring was in its infancy, the average motorcar cost many times what the average man could shell out. It was an indulgence for the aristocracy who enjoyed the finer things of life and had the resources to indulge. Cut to about a century and some later, motoring is now a modern necessity, and nearly every household has access to some form of private transportation or another, by and large. Yet, there are brands that continue to remain beyond the reach of the average citizen and represent in our minds, the very pinnacle of luxury motoring.
Started in 1904, this BMW Group-owned British marque needs no introduction. The brand started as a partnership between a young aviation enthusiast, Sir Charles Stewart Rolls, and Sir Henry Royce. Throughout its history of more than 120 years, Rolls-Royce has been creating the final statement in luxury motoring, whether the product is a Ghost, a Phantom, a Spectre, or a Cullinan. While the early years saw the company manufacture the chassis and the engine, with the coachwork being built by reputed British coach builders such as Barker, Gurney-Nutting, Thrupp & Maberly, Hooper, Park Ward, and H J Mulliner, to name a few, today the brand continues its legacy of one-of-ones with its stellar Bespoke programme. It is also the last of the legacy brands to continue to use a mascot – the Spirit of Ecstasy.
The Mercedes-Maybach line crowns the Mercedes-Benz product line and tops the Mercedes value chain. If a Mercedes-Benz is meant for the cream of society, then a Maybach is a cut above that. The brand, long before it was acquired by the three-pointed star, was created by another legendary partnership. This time between Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl back in 1909. Known for its opulence, the brand was coveted and remained in vehicle production till the Second World War. Post WW II, Maybach motorcars ceased to exist, even though the company was bought in the 1960s by Daimler Benz. It wasn’t until 2002 that Mercedes-Benz reintroduced the Maybach name to the world of luxury motoring. Today, the Mercedes-Maybach range of cars mark their owners as somewhat different even within the world of Mercedes-Benz.
Compared to Rolls-Royce and Maybach, the Bentley name is relatively young, having been formed only in 1919. Driven entirely by passion and a desire for motorsport glory, the second car it ever built – the EXP 2, won the Junior Sprint Handicap at the banked circuit at Brooklands (now part of the Brooklands Museum in the UK) in 1921. Nine years later, the brand built the Blower Bentley, a supercharged 4.25-litre motorcar with 175hp, in 1930. Marked by powerful performance, exemplary craftsmanship, and elegant design, today’s Bentleys continue to offer a very British idea of grand touring to the owner.
Speaking of Grand Touring, across the channel, the only other brand that really mastered the art was Italian manufacturer Maserati. Like Bentley, Maserati was founded in 1914 and quickly gained a reputation in the cut- throat world of motorsport. In fact, one of the most famous Maseratis of them all, the Tipo 26, made its debut at the 1926 Targa Florio in Sicily. Three years later, it set a world record of covering 10 kilometres at just over 246kmph. This was an astonishing feat in 1929. Led by incredibly beautiful design and propelled by powerful engines, Maserati laid a very Italian idea of the grand touring template. It’s a template that continues to create exemplary automobiles, whether it’s the MCPura, the Greciale, or any other.
This is the only American luxury auto brand left that had once challenged the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, alongside other American names like Packard. Apart from producing some absolute masterpieces that combined engineering with art (in its styling) and craftsmanship, the brand also came to be associated with the choice of wheels of some of the most famous American celebrities, most notably, Elvis Presley. The brand was also innovators par excellence, introducing the electric starter in 1911 and the power steering in 1954. Across the Atlantic, Cadillac has continued to espouse the cause of relaxed and refined luxury motoring for over a century. It’s a pity that the manufacturer doesn’t produce right-hand drive vehicles and is not present in India.