The company Schlotterbeck Automobil AG, based in Basel and Zurich, was the main Swiss importer for Maybach vehicles. It ordered this onetime Maybach model SW 38 as an exhibit for the 1938 Geneva Motor Show. Customs clearance took place on February 25, 1938.
Schlotterbeck had explicitly ordered a two-door cabriolet on the long wheelbase, which was unusual. Four-door bodies were normally only built on long-wheelbase chassis, whereas the two-door bodies were exclusively intended for the short wheelbase. This vehicle owes its elegant flow to its long wheelbase. Despite its length of almost six meters, it only has a very small trunk, which is accessed from inside and equipped with custom-made cases. The fact that the spare wheels are set into the tail make the very streamlined body appear even longer and more elegant.
Max Wirth-Kälin, a resident of Gartenstrasse in Basel, bought the car at the Geneva Motor Show. After World War II, the widow Wirth-Kälin sold the Maybach to a German legal philosopher, who loved this Maybach for its exceptionally elegant body. His passion was so great that he interrupted his studies and completed an apprenticeship as a car mechanic so that he could service and look after his much-loved Maybach himself.
His passion is expressed in the black and white sound film "Neue Freude an alten Autos" (New Joy of Old Cars) produced by Richard von Frankenberg in 1961.
After many years of restoration, our "black prince" is once again resplendent in its former glory. As a result, it was the star at the Geneva Motor Show for a second time from March 5 to 17, 2002.
FIRST OWNER:
Director Max Wirth-Kälin, Dyeing and Finishing Shop