THE most expensive luxury car produced by Mercedes-Benz met one of the world's most exclusive liners in the world for its maiden voyage.

The German manufacturer's Maybach 62 was taken across the Atlantic aboard the QE2 to New York where it made its world premiere in Wall Street today. Already the exclusive car, protected in a specially-made glass container, had travelled by train from the Maybach Manufaktur plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, across the Channel to the water's edge in Southampton.

The arrival of the Maybach signals a return for the brand after an absence of more than 60 years. The car is powered by a 550bhp, 5.5- litre 12-cylinder engine – the world's most powerful production unit – and comes with Airmatic DC air suspension braking-by-wire and reclining rear seats.