Wilhelm Maybach

Wilhelm Maybach (1846 to 1929) was an early German engine designer and industrialist, hailed in France in the 1890s as the King of Designers. Born in Heilbronn, he worked with Gottlieb Daimler on light, high-speed internal combustion engines for land, water and air, which were fitted to the first motorcycle, the first motorboat and, after Daimler died, to the Mercedes automobile of 1902 built to the specifications of Emil Jellinek. As technical director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft he clashed with its chairmen and left in 1907. In 1909 he founded Maybach-Motorenbau with his son Karl, which made Zeppelin engines, later luxury cars and, from the 1930s, tank engines.