Most celebrity cars get famous because of what they did on screen. Elizabeth Taylor’s 2006 Maybach 57 is famous because of what it did in her driveway, which by the numbers wasn’t much. Barrett-Jackson says the black-on-Caramel sedan was the actress’s last vehicle. It will cross the block with no reserve at the 2027 Scottsdale Auction, which runs January 23–31 at WestWorld. It was on public display at the company’s Las Vegas sale in September.
The chain of custody
According to Barrett-Jackson’s announcement, Taylor left the car to her friend, celebrity stylist José Eber, when she died on March 23, 2011. Eber has kept it for the 15 years since. He describes it as a place “where we shared so many wonderful memories,” which is a nice way of saying the back seat has seen more conversation than the tachometer has seen redline.
Related Articles
- Omar Marmoush Convicted Over a Parked McLaren 720S, Because UK Law Doesn’t Only Chase Drivers
- Clifton’s 100-Car Takeover Ended in Gun Charges, but New Jersey’s 1955 Racing Law Caps a First Offense at $100
The odometer reads 7,200 actual miles. The release also says the car has rarely been driven since Taylor’s death. Put those two facts together and most of those miles were almost certainly hers, spread across at most five years of ownership. Hollywood’s most glamorous woman was, statistically, a short-trip driver.
What you’re actually buying
Barrett-Jackson lists the following:
- a 5.5-liter V12 making 543 hp and 664 lb-ft
- a five-speed Mercedes-Benz 5G-Tronic automatic with manual shifting
- a rear refrigerator between the back seats
- intact rear passenger curtains
- the original car cover
The car’s name is literal. Maybach’s own brand history says the 57 and its stretched sibling, the 62, were named for their lengths, with the 57 measuring 5.73 meters. The same history puts the factory 0–100 km/h time at 5.2 seconds and the top speed at an electronically limited 250 km/h. Those are absurd numbers for something weighing roughly as much as a small apartment.
Mercedes-Benz’s Maybach fact sheet dates the 57 and 62 (the W/V 240 series) to 2002 through 2012. That was a short, expensive decade before the name returned as a Mercedes sub-brand. So this car is a relic of Maybach’s standalone experiment, not an early example of today’s Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.
Low miles, high homework
Here’s the part the glamour shots skip. A 20-year-old ultra-luxury sedan that has mostly sat for 15 years is not automatically a time capsule. It can just as easily be a deferred-maintenance capsule. The announcement says nothing about service records, recent fluid changes, battery condition or tire age. Serious bidders should ask for all four.
On a car like this, rubber and electronics age whether or not the wheels turn. Hoses, seals and tires have shelf lives, and an extravagantly optioned cabin multiplies the number of motors, modules and wiring runs that can quietly fail from disuse. Budget for a full recommissioning by a specialist who knows these V12 Maybachs before you treat it as a driver. Do that before you treat it as an investment, too.
Provenance is the real asset
With no reserve, the room sets the price, and the room will be pricing Taylor, not the Maybach. That makes the paperwork more valuable than the paint. The documents that matter most:
- estate or probate records showing the transfer to Eber
- the title history linking the VIN to Taylor
- any original purchase documents in her name
Insurance follows the same logic. A celebrity-owned car belongs on an agreed-value collector policy, and an insurer will only agree to a value that’s backed by documentation. If the Taylor connection can’t be proven on paper, expect it to count for very little in a claim. A future resale buyer will apply exactly the same scrutiny.
Related Articles
- Hurricane Warnings Delayed Luftgekühlt 12 in Atlanta. 8,000 Porsche Fans Responded by Showing Up Anyway
- Jack Harvey Discloses Cancer Diagnosis and Targets the 2027 Indianapolis 500
The pitch also leans on pop culture beyond the movies. Craig Jackson’s statement mentions Taylor Swift’s recent single named after the actress. That’s a reminder that Barrett-Jackson is marketing to buyers who may know Taylor’s name better than her filmography. Whether that audience shows up with Maybach money in January is the most interesting open question here.
The takeaway
This is a low-mileage, late-era Maybach 57 with a documented-sounding story and an unusually personal backstory. Bid on the paper trail and the inspection report, not just on the ghost in the back seat.
Images Via: Barrett-Jackson
About the Author
