Mercedes-Benz 600

Mercedes-Benz W100 600
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercedes-Benz
Also called	Grand Mercedes Der Große Mercedes
Production	1963–1981 2,677 built[1] SWB: 2,190 LWB: 428 Landaulet: 59
Designer	Bruno Sacco Friedrich Geiger Paul Bracq
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size luxury car (F)
Body style	short 4-door sedan long 4-door sedan (Pullman) 6-door limousine (Pullman) long 4-door landaulet (Pullman)
Layout	FR layout
Powertrain
Engine	6.3 L M100 V8
Dimensions
Wheelbase	SWB: 3,200 mm (126.0 in) LWB: 3,900 mm (150 in)
Length	SWB: 5,540 mm (218.1 in) LWB: 6,240 mm (246 in)
Width	1,950 mm (76.8 in)
Height	SWB: 1,500 mm (59.1 in) LWB: 1,510 mm (59 in)
Curb weight	2,990–3,280 kg (6,590–7,230 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Mercedes-Benz 300 Adenauer
Successor	Maybach 57 and 62 (Ideal)

600 Pullman in Mercedes Museum, formerly transporting guests of the German Government

Mercedes 600 Landaulet

600 in Museum Sinsheim, sitting low until the air compressor re-supplies pressure to the suspension

The Mercedes-Benz 600 is a high-end large luxury sedan and limousine produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1963 to 1981. Generally, the short-wheel-base (SWB) models were designed to be owner-driven, the long-wheel-base (LWB), often incorporating a central divider with power window, by a chauffeur.

The forerunner of the modern Maybach marque, the 600 "Grosser Mercedes" ("Grand Mercedes") succeeded the Type 300 "Adenauer" as the company's flagship and most expensive model. Positioned well above the 300-series Mercedes-Benz W112. Its few competitors included certain models of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, the Cadillac Fleetwood 75, stretched Lincoln Continental Lehmann-Peterson, and the Chrysler Imperial Crown Ghia.

The 600 marked the last super-luxury model the brand produced in an unbroken line with its demise in 1981 since the model 60 hp Simplex from 1903.^[2] The company would return to this segment some 20 years later with the Maybach 57/62, however these cars ultimately failed to captivate customers in the same way as their British rivals therefore Daimler killed the Maybach brand in 2012 and would not return to this segment. The current Mercedes flagship is the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, which occupies a considerably lower price bracket and is not a successor to the 600 Grand and earlier models, however it is seen as a spiritual successor as it is the first luxury Mercedes since the 600 to feature some bespoke design touches not available on the standard S Class.

History

Production began in 1964 and continued through to 1981.^[3] During this time, production totalled 2,677 units, comprising 2,190 Saloons, 304 Pullmans, 124 6-door Pullmans and 59 Landaulets.^[3]

Models

The 600 came in two main variants:

• A short wheelbase 4-door sedan, available with a power divider window separating the front seats from the rear bench seat, although most were built without this feature.
• A long wheelbase 4-door Pullman limousine (with two additional rear-facing seats separated from the driver compartment by a power divider window, of which 304 were built), and a 6-door limousine (with two forward-facing jump-seats at the middle two doors and a rear bench-seat).

A number of the Pullman limousines were made as landaulets, with a convertible top over the rear passenger compartment. Two versions of the convertible roof were made- long roof, and short roof. Of them, the short roof, which opens only above the last, third row of seats, is the more common version. Rarer, especially by the 6 door Landaulets, is the long roof, called- Presidential Roof. In all, 59 Pullman Landaulets were produced, and of them, only 26 were 6 door landaulets. And of these 26, only very few- 9, were 6 doors Landaulets with the long Presidential type opening roof. One of these 9 cars was used by the former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito, and was sold in 2017 in England, for 2.5 mln. Pounds.^[4]

Landaulets like these were notably used also by the German government, as during the 1965 state visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Also the Vatican, in addition to an elongated Mercedes 300 type D, 4 door convertible, have used for the Pope, specially ordered 4 door Pullman Convertible, which now resides in the Mercedes benz Factory Museum. Production of the Landaulet versions of 600 model, ended in 1980.

Mercedes also made two coupés, one as a gift for retiring long-time Mercedes chief designer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and the other to Fritz Nallinger. head of Research and development center of Mercedes in the 50s and 60s.^[5] These cars had a wheelbase 22 cm (8.6 inches) shorter than the SWB sedan. A third was much later constructed by 600 experts and restorers Karl Middelhauve & Associates of Wausau, Wisconsin from a SWB sedan.^[6]

Karl Middelhauve has also created a pair of matching Chevrolet El Camino-style coupes from 600 SWB sedans. One of them has a Vortech supercharger. Some purists question the reason for modifying a classic such as an original 600 into a modified vehicle, while other purists think Karl is extending function in the true spirit of the "Grosser" Mercedes.^[7]

A single example of a SWB 4-door landaulet, combining the handling of a short-wheelbase with the qualities of a landaulet, was built by Mercedes in 1967 for former racing driver Count von Berckheim.

Mechanical

The 600's great size, weight, and numerous hydraulically driven amenities required more power than Mercedes' largest engine at that time, the 3-litre 6-cylinder M189, could produce. A new V8 with more than twice the capacity was developed, the 6.3 L M100. It featured single overhead camshafts (SOHC) and Bosch mechanical fuel injection. It developed 300 Hp, however the total usable output was 250 Hp as 50 Hp was used to power the hydraulic convenience system.

The 600's complex 150-bar (2,176 psi) hydraulic pressure system powered the automobile's windows, seats, sun-roof, boot lid, and automatically closing doors. Adjustable air suspension delivered excellent ride quality and sure handling over any road surface.^[8]

In 1967 the M-100 engine and pneumatic suspension were fitted to the much smaller but still substantial W109 300SEL 6.3, creating the world's fastest four-door sedan. Upon the introduction of the W116 chassis, a larger 6.9 liter version of M-100 was installed in the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 and pneumatic suspension was replaced with hydraulic.

Notable owners

Famous owners of the Mercedes-Benz 600 have included the following people.

Political leaders and royalty

• Anastasio Somoza Debayle, President of Nicaragua of Nicaragua bought a SWB for his wife Hope Portocarrero from the first production run.
• Bhumibol Adulyadej of King of Thailand^[21]
• Chen Yi, former Chinese Foreign Minister^[22]
• Daniel Moi^[23][24]
• Deng Xiaoping^[22]
• Deng Yingchao, wife of Zhou Enlai, the first Chinese Prime Minister^[22]

Habib Bourguiba's 600 Pullman

• François "Papa Doc" Duvalier^[25][26]
• Francois Tombalbaye^[27]
• Ferdinand Marcos, who owned four, including a landaulet, a 1981 bulletproof model and a six-door version^[28][29][30]
• F. W. de Klerk^[31][32]
• Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia^[33][34]
• Hassan II of Morocco, King of Morocco^[34]
• Hastings Kamuzu Banda
• Hosni Mubarak^[35]
• Idi Amin^[36]
• Jim Fouché^[31]
• Josip Broz Tito, 1971 Pullman landaulet^[37][38]
• Jean-Bédel Bokassa^[39]
• Jean-Claude Duvalier^[40]
• John Vorster^[31]
• Jomo Kenyatta^[41]
• King Khalid of Saudi Arabia
• Kim Il-sung^[42][30]
• Kim Jong-il^[30]
• Kim Jong-un;^[43] the North Koreans have also owned a landaulet (both seen in the 65th anniversary parade in Pyongyang on October 10, 2010)
• Leonid Brezhnev^[34][44]
• Léopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal; the first Senegalese regime (1960–1980) under him had three 600s, a short wheel base, a long wheel base, and a Landaulet, later replaced by the W126-based Carat Limousine.
• Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and the royal court, who owned multiple 600 models including 3 landaulet models and 18 other for national guard^[34]
• King Mohammed VI of Morocco^[45]
• Mao Zedong, Chinese revolutionary leader^[22]
• Marais Viljoen^[31]
• Mobutu Sese Seko,^[36] dictator and president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire)^[22]
• Nico Diederichs^[31]
• Nicolae Ceaușescu^[34][30]
• Norodom Sihanouk, former King of Cambodia^[22]
• Omar Bongo President of Gabon.^[46]
• The Pope^[47]
• Park Chung-hee^[48]
• P. W. Botha^[31]
• Religious leader Guru Maharaj Ji/Prem Rawat
• Colombian drug dealer Pablo Escobar, a LWB six-door 600, destroyed in an attack on Escobar in 1988 in Medellín.
• Robert Mugabe,
• Saddam Hussein, who owned a long-roof landaulet that was recovered after the fall of Baghdad and is today owned by the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles^[49][30]
• Süleyman Demirel, 9th President of Turkey^[50]
• The first President of Indonesia, Sukarno, also owned the 600 SWB.
• Todor Zhivkov Former President of Bulgaria from 1956 to 1989. Used Government owned high-end Benz models from 300D Adenauer to 450 SEL 6.9 for daily routine, and for State visits- 1967 600 Pullman 6-door Landaulet. The 600 Landaulet is still in use today by Bulgarian Government for Special occasions and visits.^[51]
• Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto^[52] (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that as the 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. He was also the founder of the Pakistan People's Party . Kept a 1970 Pullman 600 Grosser In the Prime Minister Office.
• Muhammad Zia Ul Haq^[52] (12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general who served as the 6th President of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in 1988. Also kept the same 1970 Pullman 600 Grosser as the holder of the Prime Minister Office . This car now has a rich Historic importance for Pakistan.

In popular culture

In cinema, the Mercedes 600 was featured in several James Bond films, most notably as transport of the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever. In Octopussy, the villain Kamal Khan is seen leaving Sotheby's London auction house in a 600 Pullman.

In television, a 600 was used by fictional Channing/Gioberti family matriarch Angela Channing in the American television series Falcon Crest. Images of the car driving from San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Falcon Crest vineyard were featured in the opening credits of the first four seasons. It was also prominently featured in the television show Friday the 13th.

In popular political context, the 600 has long been associated with totalitarianism, dictatorships and to a lesser extent Communism due to its use by dictators, authoritarian rulers, and Communist/socialist leaders during the 1960s and 1970s. This is similar to how its predecessor, the 770, was associated with Axis leaders.

There was also a Pullman version used in the Movie High Anxiety by Mel Brooks.

Technical data

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mercedes-Benz 600.

• Mercedes-Benz 600 – historical information at Daimler.com
• The International M-100 Group (with a car registry by serial number)
• Photos of the 1965 papal landaulet at Conceptcarz.com
• Presentation of the 600 SWB at Amelia Island, Florida - video
• Jay Leno's Garage – 1972 Mercedes-Benz 600 - video