슈퍼카 매니아 삼성전자 이건희회장이 메르세데스-벤츠 및 마이바흐를 전문으로 정비하는 기술자들로 개인자동차정비팀을 운영하고 있다.
이들 대부분은 벤츠코리아 및 딜러사인 한성자동차 소속의 베테랑 정비공들로 이들을 스카우트하기 위해 이회장은 “고액”을 제시한 것으로 알려졌다.
한 업계 관계자는 “이들 한국 기술자들은 국제정비대회에서도 우승을 하는 등 그 실력을 인정받고 있다”며 정확한 인원과 그들의 몸값에 대해서는 말을 아꼈다.
올해 71세인 이회장은 자동차매니아로 이미 정평이 나있고 용인에 있는 개인 차고에는 수십대의 슈퍼카들이 보관돼 있다.
최근에는 출퇴근시 롤스로이스의 팬텀을 주로 이용하고 있지만 여전히 벤츠와 마이바흐에 애정을 갖고 있는 것으로 보인다.
몇 년 전에는 벤츠의 SL63 AMG 로드스터를 이회장이 직접 삼성이 운영하는 용인 스피드웨이 레이싱트랙에서 운전하는 모습이 포착됐는데 당시 주위에는 벤츠 이외에도 람보르기니, 페라리 등 스포츠카들도 줄지어 서 있어 더욱 화제가 됐다.
독일 럭셔리세단 브랜드인 마이바흐가 국내에 알려지기 시작한 것도 이회장이 마이바흐 62S로 출퇴근하면서부터 이다. 마이바흐는 벤츠의 모회사인 다임러 소속으로 현재는 단종된 상태이다.
그는 또한 벤츠 마니아답게 독일 AMG나 브라부스가 제작한 고성능튜닝버전도 여러대 보유하고 있는 것으로 알려져 있다. (코리아헤럴드 김지현, 이지윤기자)
<관련 영문기사>
Samsung chairman still in love with super cars
71-year-old tycoon has batch of Benz technicians to look after his pricey toys
By Kim Ji-hyun and Lee Ji-yoon
Despite his age and deteriorating health, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee’s passion for cars seems to die hard.
The 71-year-old tycoon and automobile enthusiast, known for operating a warehouse full of the world‘s fastest and priciest vehicles at the Samsung auto museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, even has a team of technicians to look after his cars.
Over the past few years, he has hired experts mostly specialized in repairing Mercedes-Benz and Maybach cars. They are mainly mechanics who were hired by Mercedes-Benz Korea and Han Sung Motor, the largest Benz car dealer in Korea that hires and trains some 400 technicians at its 13 service centers nationwide, according to multiple sources.
“These Korean technicians have made a global reputation after winning international mechanic contests,” said an industry source on condition of anonymity. “Lee paid a lot to get them on his team.”
It’s unknown, however, exactly how many technicians were hired and how much they were paid.
Even though the Rolls-Royce Phantom is more often used as his commuting limo in Seoul these days, the Samsung boss’ passion for cars seems still more centered on the brand of the three-pointed star -- the Mercedes-Benz.
Lee‘s pricey hobby became widely known in 2009 when he was spotted driving a Mercedes SL63 AMG roadster on the racetrack at Yongin Everland Speedway, which is owned and operated by Samsung.
A dozen of other super cars such as Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini were spotted parked at the track at the time.
After that, Lee was never again seen sitting behind the wheel, possibly due to more heightened vigilance and his own health problems. But he has continued hinting at his taste for cars with his choice of limos ranging from Maybach to Rolls-Royce.
Maybach is an ultra-luxury sedan brand owned by Daimler. Production has now been ceased, and it had been largely unfamiliar here before the Maybach 62S started serving as Lee’s commuting ride in recent years.
Further reflecting his enthusiasm for the Benz brand, Lee’s garage is reportedly crammed with their high-performance souped-up versions by AMG and Brabus -- the two specialists for turning Benz cars into road rockets.
A foreign CEO who recently visited the so-called “Lee Kun-hee track” said he was greatly impressed by the condition of the facility.
“The racetrack was one of the best I’ve ever visited,” he said, wishing to remain anonymous. “The grass condition along the tracks was perfect. It seemed to mirror the chairman’s passion for cars.”
The chairman’s love of cars is also one of the reasons why there is always speculation that Samsung would once again try its hand in the auto business, which was hinted at a rare investor relation session earlier this year.
In 1995, Samsung teamed up with Japan’s Nissan to roll out the SM5 sedans under the Samsung Motor badge. But hit hard by the financial crisis in the late 1990s, the company sold off the business to France’s Renault Group.
In recent years, Samsung is expanding its presence into the battery business for electric cars and other car parts. (
jemmie@heraldcorp.com) (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
