Maybach, Sphinx and silver cutlery

What do Maybach and sailing yachts have in common?

In 1874, Nikolaus Christoph Robbe founded his own silver workshop in Flensburg, Germany. Thirteen years later, master silversmith Robert Berking joined the company, eventually marrying Robbe's daughter and taking a 50 per cent stake in the enterprise. Robbe & Berking, celebrating 150 years in 2024, has remained a family business for five generations. In 2005, Oliver Berking and two friends bought the vintage racing yacht Sphinx and spent three years restoring it. Thanks to the knowledge gained during this process and the yacht's fame, in 2008 the project turned into establishing the Robbe & Berking Classics, a shipyard specialising in the restoration and renovation of classic sailing vessels.

S/Y Sphinx has quite an interesting history. The German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen built this 70-foot 12mR class racing boat in 1939. Until 1987, this international class represented the pinnacle of sailing: from 1958 to 1987, this was the America's Cup class. The yacht was built as a club boat for the Norddeutscher Regattaverein Yacht Club (NRV). The construction was funded by the people of Hamburg, in particular the merchant Philipp Reemtsma.

The yacht was launched on April 28 in 1939, just days before the outbreak of the World War II. In the summer of 1939, Sphinx, helmed by the Consul Franz Brinkmann, raced in the Kiel and Travemünder regattas, dominating over the rest of her class. Everyone expected the yacht to show up at the Olympic regatta in Helsinki in 1940. But her mast broke during the Eresund Week in Denmark, so Sphinx was not able to race again until after the war.

After the Second World War the sailing world in Germany was in a poor state for a long time. The NRV lost its club premises and almost all its fleet, but managed to keep the 12mR alive. But there was a problem. After the capitulation, Germans without special permission were only allowed to sailboats smaller than 6m.

The NRV Club Chairman Erich F. Lajsz initiated the legendary barter deal. Laisz was a world-famous shipowner and one of the most loyal clients of Abeking & Rasmussen. All of his large yachts' names started with "P" — among them the famous windjammers "Pamir", "Passat" and "Preissen". Laisz sold Sphinx to NRV club members, Hans and Wolfgang Freudenberg, holders of Chilean passports and owners of a major woodworking workshop in Hamburg. With a Chilean citizenship, they could legally sail a large yacht under the Chilean flag. The yacht was paid for with timber — a full railway car of oak, larch and mahogany. The NRV gave this wood to Abeking & Rasmussen, and Henry Rasmussen in turn supplied the club with 12 Hummel boats, five Pirates, two small Sonderling keelboats and eight Hansa jolly boats.

The NRV sold these boats to its members, establishing the financial foundation to build a new clubhouse in Alster, where it is still located. A scale model of the "Sphinx" adorns one of the walls of the residence. In 1958, the Sphinx was sold to Murwick Naval College, where she served as a training vessel until 2004 under the name Ostwind. In the 60ies and 70ies, the navy won 9 times the "Blaue Band der Flensburger Förde" for the fastest local yacht.

On September 30, 2005, along with the college's other yacht, Westwind, the boat was put up for auction. When the auction date was set, three Flensburg sailors decided to bid to save at least one of the yachts. Thus, in January 2006, the restoration of Ostwind began. In 2008 the Sphinx was restored to her former glory.

The yacht's specs: 

The story took another interesting twist in 2024 when Mercedes-Maybach made a one of a kind custom Maybach S 680 styled after the Sphinx to honor the 150th anniversary of Robbe & Berking.

The opulent sedan is finished in an exclusive colour palette similar to a restored yacht: Nautical Blue Metallic and Manufaktur Patagonia Red, separated by the Manufaktur Opalite White body line. The same line can be seen in the interior: the seats, door cards, headliner and even the boot are finished in Nappa Crystal White leather with Orion Grey stitching and diamond stitching. The interior is finished in walnut wood with aluminium accents that mimic the teak deck of a yacht. The rear seats are upholstered in Crystal White leather with a triangular Silver Grey Pearl contrast panel, embellished with Orion Grey stitching and Silver Grey Pearl trim.

The extensive options list includes red-lit Manufaktur sills, Burmester surround sound, as well as power doors and the MBUX rear-seat entertainment system. 

This is not Maybach's first collaboration with Robbe & Berking — the silver house began supplying champagne glasses for the luxury sedans back in 2002. Of course, a set of silver-plated flutes is also present in this Mercedes-Maybach S 680. 

Since the sedan is a one-off for an unnamed customer, this Maybach is not for sale. However, anyone can purchase the Robbe & Berking Maybach champagne flutes from the car maker's accessory shop for only $874.50 (tax and shipping not included).