Wilhelm Maybach was born in Germany in 1846. When he was twenty-six Maybach joined Gottlieb Daimler and Nikolaus Otto in designing cars. Together they they produced the idea of the four-stroke cycle.

In 1882 Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler went into partnership. Based in Struttgart they produced one of the first petrol engines. Maybach invented the float-feed carburettor in 1893. This device made the fuel enter through a jet as a fine spray. The vaporized fuel mixed with air to produce a combustible mixture for the engine's cylinders.

In 1901 Maybach designed the first Mercedes car but six years later left Daimler to set up his own factory for making engines for Zeppelin airships. Wilhelm Maybach died in 1929.