Testing of the New Maybach

Press Release

Engine testing: 2.7 million test kilometres using 122 test cars The new type-12 engine in the Maybach has also successfully come through a demanding programme of testing on the road and the test rig. The Stuttgart-based engineers sent a total of 238 engines away for testing. Around half of these were put to work in test cars and demonstrated exceptional durability over a distance of some 2.7 million kilometres. The testing schedule for the engine ??????????????????????????????????????? which boasts the highest output and torque rating of any series-produced passenger car power unit - involved an 800,000-kilometre endurance test on German motorways, trunk roads and country lanes, as well as a large number of tests conducted under extreme climatic conditions in locations as contrasting as the Earth's hottest point in Death Valley, and Kiruna, Sweden's most northerly town. Finally, the twelve-cylinder engine successfully underwent several weeks of tuning tests in the rarefied atmosphere of the 3,390-metre Pico de Veleta in the Andalusia region of Spain. The road in the Sierra Nevada mountains is one of the highest routes passable by car anywhere in Europe. The newly developed Maybach engine experienced the opposite extreme of its testing marathon on the testing rigs at Stuttgart-Untert??????????????????rkheim. Months of operational tests to fine-tune the ignition, fuel injection and tur-bochargers were complemented by noise and vibration checks. This re-sulted in 116 test engines clocking up 36,745 hours on the test rig. Almost a third of this work schedule came under the heading of "cyclical endurance testing" and was based on a precisely stipulated sequence of exacting engine speed, load and temperature tests. Equally impressive as the high intensity of the testing are the vital statistics of the Maybach power unit. Its 5.5-litre displacement, twin turbochargers, 405 kW/550-hp output and maximum torque of 900 Newtonmetres secures its position as the world leader among passenger car engines in terms of output and torque rating. This engine power ensures the authority in any driving situation that you would expect from a Maybach. It is also the product of DaimlerChrysler's many years of experience and irrepressible expertise in the development, construction and manufacture of twelve-cylinder engines. The German car maker is the world's largest producer of V12 engines for passenger cars. The wind tunnel: detecting noises using special microphones The Maybach development engineers clocked up hundreds of hours in the wind tunnel with prototypes and pre-production models. This is where the focus shifted to aerodynamics and, above all, aeroacoustics ??????????????????????????????????????? a key area of development which goes towards ensuring the low noise levels on board the new high-end luxury saloon. The engineers used state-of-the-art testing processes in the aeroacoustics tunnel to identify parts of the bodywork which may have been causing troublesome wind noise or vibrations and took action to rectify any irregularities. Potential problem areas included the sophisticated sealing systems on the joins of the body panels, which are an effective tool to prevent wind noise from developing in the gaps, even at high speeds. Furthermore, comprehensive insulation of the individual body panels prevents any wind noise from penetrating into the interior of the Maybach. This insulation consists of sealing all the way around the doors, plus additional weatherstrips on the front wings and roof pillars. The Maybach engineers paid particular attention to low-frequency interference, which can be caused by vibrations in larger components. Aeroacoustic data, for example, provided important information for the rigid, low-vibration construction of the cover panels for the underfloor section and its attachment points. Through the use of a wind deflector with four precisely calculated notches worked into its plastic profile, the Maybach experts have managed to cancel out the annoying booming which detracts from the ride comfort when the sliding sunroof is open. The notches generate tiny whirlwinds which allow them to suppress the annoying noise.