Mercedes 600 Saloon rearMercedes 600 Pullman rear viewMercedes 600 LandauletMercedes 600 Landaulet rear seating area600 in Museum Sinsheim, sitting low until the air compressor re-supplies pressure to the suspension
The Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) is a line of ultra-luxury cars produced by Daimler-Benz from 1963 to 1981. The forerunner of the modern Maybach marque, the Grosser Mercedes ("Grand Mercedes") succeeded the Type 300d "Adenauer" (W189) as the company's flagship model. It was positioned above the subsequent 300-series (W112) in price, amenities, and status. In 1963 the Mercedes-Benz 600 was the most expensive car in the world. Its few competitors included British and American marques such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lincoln Continental, Cadillac Series 75, and Chrysler Imperial. It was well known for its ownership among celebrities and political leaders and royalty throughout the late 20th century.[2] Many experts and enthusiasts consider it to be the greatest luxury vehicle ever made. Even today owning a Mercedes-Benz 600 can be very expensive and extremely costly to maintain, they can cost as much as 3.5 million dollars.[citation needed]
Generally, the short-wheelbase (SWB) models were designed to be owner-driven, whereas the long-wheelbase (LWB) and limousine models, often incorporating a central divider with power window, were intended for chauffeur operation.
"Living legend: the Mercedes-Benz 600 is nothing but grand. With its groundbreaking engineering, this iconic vehicle has been defining automotive luxury since its first appearance in 1963." - Mercedes Benz[3]
History
The 600 replaced the Mercedes-Benz W189 300d limousine, the final version of the W186 and W189 model 300-series company flagship produced between the early 1950s and early 1960s. It received the nickname Adenauer after Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of West Germany, who employed several of these automobiles during his tenure in office.
Production began in 1964 and continued through to 1981.[4] During this time, production totalled 2,677 units, comprising 2,190 Saloons, 304 Pullmans, 124 6-door Pullmans and 59 Landaulets.[4]
With its demise in 1981, the 600 marked the last ultra-luxury model that the brand produced in an unbroken line since the model 60hp Simplex from 1903.[7] The company would return to this segment some 20 years later with the Maybach 57/62, but these extremely expensive cars failed to sell in expected and necessary numbers. As a result, Daimler ended production of the Maybach brand in 2012 and has not returned to this segment.
As of 2019[update], the Mercedes flagship is the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, which occupies a considerably lower price bracket and is not a true successor to the 600 and earlier models. However, it is seen as a spiritual successor, since it is the first luxury Mercedes-Benz production model since the 600 to feature some bespoke design touches not available on the standard S-Class.[citation needed]
Models
Mercedes-Benz 600 "Pullman" limousine, carrying US President Jimmy Carter in Liberia, 1978
The 600 came in two wheelbase lengths, producing three main variants:
A short wheelbase 4-door saloon, 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)
A long wheelbase 6-door Pullman limousine (with power divider and two forward-facing jump-seats at the middle two doors and a rear bench-seat).
A number of the limousines were converted into landaulets, with a retractable top over part or all of the rear passenger compartment. The more common short roof version folds down like a cabriolet over just the last row of seats, leaving the door frames in place and the area forward of it covered with the metal roof, while the long roof folds back from the cabin divider (and leaves all door frames in place). Known as the "Presidential roof", it was especially rare with 6-door landaulets. In all, 59 landaulets were produced, 23 four-door models of unknown breakdown, 17 6-door short roofs, and 9 six-door long roofs.
Landaulets like these were also notably used by the German government, as during the 1965 state visit of Queen Elizabeth II. The Vatican, in addition to an elongated Mercedes 300d 4-door landaulet, used for the Pope a specially designed Mercedes 600 4-door landaulet, which now resides at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Production of the landaulet versions of the 600 ended in 1980. A six-door long roof landaulet used by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito sold in 2017 in England for £2.5 million.[8]
Mercedes also made one special short-wheelbase, 2-door 600 coupé, in 1965, with the standard wheelbase shortened 22cm (8.6 inches) between the axles, to 298cm (117.3in).[9] A single example of a short-wheelbase 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 Philipp Constantin von Berckheim.[citation needed]
Mechanical
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The 600's great size, weight, and numerous hydraulically driven amenities, which Mercedes called ’Comfort Hydraulic System’[10] 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 6.3L (384.4cuin)M100. It featured single overhead camshafts (SOHC) and a Bosch-made intermittent multi point manifold injection, and developed 250PS (184kW; 247hp).[11]
The 600's complex 150-bar (2,176psi) hydraulic pressure system powered the automobile's windows, seats, sun-roof, boot lid, automatically closing doors(which were not made for another 20 years), and ventilator flaps. Adjustable air suspension delivered excellent ride quality and sure handling over any road surface.[12] It even beat lap times of the Mercedes-Benz 230SL.[10]
Notable owners
Famous owners of the Mercedes-Benz 600 have included the following:
Josip Broz Tito, who owned four 1965 LWB 6-door Pullmans, one of which was armored, and two LWB Pullman landaulets, acquired in 1971 and 1978 respectively (both of these were of the very-rare type where the folding parade roof extends to cover 2/3rds of the vehicle top, only 9 were made with such a roof arrangement and 6 doors, and Tito was the only statesman in the world at the time who had two such cars).[45][46]
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.[62]
↑ See Womack, Bobby; Ashton, Robert (2006). Midnight Mover: Autobiography. John Blake Publishing. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. We rode a couple of blocks while she fixed a tune in her head and then started singing. A line just spilled out. 'Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz. 'My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.'
↑ Pattni, Vijay (2 January 2009). "Jay Kay's multi-million pound car collection". Autotrader. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012. Jay's Merc 600 boasts a history as impressive as the car's looks – it was previously owned by none other than Coco Chanel
↑ Walker, Michael (23 July 2013). What you want is in the limo: on the road with Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and the Who in 1973, the year the sixties died and the modern rock star was born. Random House Publishing. p.241. ISBN978-0812992885.
↑ Oswald, Werner[in German] (2001). Deutsche Autos[German Cars] (in German). Vol.Band [Volume] 4: 1945–1990 Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche und andere [and others]. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN3613021315.
↑ Covello, Mike (2002). Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-2002. Iola: Krause Publication. p.533. ISBN0-87341-605-8.
Bibliography
General
Barrett, Frank (1998). Illustrated Buyer's Guide Mercedes-Benz. Motorbooks International Illustrated Buyer's Guide series (2nded.). Osceola, WI, USA: MBI Publishing. ISBN0-7603-0451-3.
——————— (2011). Mercedes-Benz Typenkunde[Mercedes-Benz Type Study] (in German). Vol.Band 3. Modelle der Oberklasse von 1951 bis 1972, Luxusklasse, S-, SL- und SLC-Klasse [Volume 3. Upper class models from 1951 to 1972, Luxury class, S-, SL- and SLC-Class]. Bielefeld, Germany: Delius Klasing. ISBN9783768832786.
Koehling, Bernd S. (2021). Mercedes-Benz: Everything you want to know about the W100: From the SWB 600 and coach-built models to the Pullman Landaulet. Independently published. ISBN9798741990841.
———————— (2021). Mercedes-Benz, The 1960s. Vol.2: From the Pagoda SL and 600 to the W108/W109. Independently published. ISBN9798739183910.
McComb, F. Wilson (1980). Mercedes-Benz V8s: Limousines, Saloons, Sedans. 1963 to date. Osprey AutoHistory series. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN0850453836.
Niemann, Harry (2006). Personenwagen von Mercedes-Benz: Automobillegenden und Geschichten seit 1886[Passenger Cars from Mercedes-Benz: Automobile Legends and Stories since 1886] (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN3613025965.
Nitske, W. Robert (1995). Mercedes-Benz Production Models Book 1946-1995 (4thed.). Osceola, WI, USA: MBI Publishing. ISBN0-7603-0245-6.
Oswald, Werner[in German] (2001). Deutsche Autos[German Cars] (in German). Vol.Band [Volume] 4: 1945–1990 Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche und andere [and others]. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN3613021315.
Taylor, James (1985). Mercedes-Benz since 1945: A Collector's Guide. Vol.2: The 1960s. Croydon, UK: Motor Racing Publications. ISBN0-900549-96-3.
Wiedmaier, Michael; Knetsch, Wulf H. (1999). 600: Der Grosse Mercedes / The Grand Mercedes (in German and English). Gundersheim, Germany: Verlag Direkte Kommunikation. ISBN3933797012.
————————— (2008). Mercedes-Benz 600: die Feine Art des Fahrens[Mercedes-Benz 600: The Fine Art of Driving]. WKP-Edition Klassik series (in German). Freilassing: WKP-Verlag. ISBN9783980727143.
Workshop manuals
Chilton Automotive Editorial Staff (1974). Mercedes-Benz: 1968-73 All 220, 230, 250, 280, 300, 350 and 450 models, gasoline and diesel engines. Chilton's Repair & Tune-Up Guide Series. Radnor, PA, USA: Chilton Book Co. ISBN0-8019-5907-1.
Freeman, Kerry A.; Rivele, Richard J.; Hallinger, Jeffrey W., eds. (1983). Mercedes-Benz: 1959-70 All 190, 200, 220, 230, 250, 280 and 300 models, gasoline and diesel engines. Chilton's Repair & Tune-Up Guide Series. Radnor, PA, USA: Chilton Book Co. ISBN0801960657.
Mellon, Thomas A, ed. (2001). Mercedes: Coupes/Sedans/Wagons, 1974-84 Repair Manual. Chilton Total Car Care Series. Radnor, PA, USA: Chilton; Sparkford, UK: Haynes Publishing. ISBN0-8019-9076-9.
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