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" as the company's flagship model. It was positioned above the 300-series Mercedes-Benz W112 in price, amenities, and status. Its few competitors included British and American equivalents such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lincoln Continental, Cadillac Series 75, and Imperial. It was well known for its ownership among celebrities and political leaders throughout the late 20th century.
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.
The 600 replaced the Mercedes-Benz W189 limousine, which was nicknamed the Adenauer, after Konrad Adenauer, who employed several of these during his term as the first West German chancellor.
Production began in 1964 and continued through to 1981. During this time, production totalled 2,677 units, comprising 2,190 Saloons, 304 Pullmans, 124 6-door Pullmans and 59 Landaulets.
The 600 succeeded the 1961 Mercedes-Benz W112 in using a pneumatic self-levelling suspension, an enhancement of the Mercedes-Benz 300d Adenauer's dashboard activated mechanical torsion bar based system. A version is incorporated in Mercedes' current Active Body Control.
With its demise in 1981, the 600 marked the last ultra-luxury model that the brand produced in an unbroken line since the model 60 hp Simplex from 1903. The company would return to this segment some 20 years later with the Maybach 57/62 (but the Maybach was extremely expensive), but these cars ultimately failed to captivate customers in the same way as their British rivals. As a result, Daimler ended production of the Maybach brand in 2012 and has not returned to this segment. As of 2019, 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 since the 600 to feature some bespoke design touches not available on the standard S-Class.
The 600 came in two main variants:
A number of the 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 with the 6-door landaulets, is the long roof, called the Presidential roof. In all, 59 landaulets were produced, and of them, only 26 were 6-door landaulets. Of these 26, only nine were 6-doors landaulets with the long Presidential-type roof. One of these nine cars was used by the former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito, and it was sold in 2017 in England, for £2.5 million.
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.
Mercedes also made two special 600 coupés: one as a gift for retiring long-time Mercedes chief designer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and the other for Fritz Nallinger, head of the Mercedes research and development centre in the 1950s and 60s. These cars had a wheelbase 22 cm (8.6 inches) shorter than the SWB saloon. A third coupé was much later constructed by Karl Middelhauve from a SWB saloon. Karl Middelhauve also created a questionable pair of matching Chevrolet El Camino-style coupes from 600 SWB saloons, one of them with a Vortech supercharger. 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 Philipp Constantin von Berckheim.
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 a Bosch-made intermittently injecting multipoint manifold injection. It developed 250 PS (184 kW; 247 hp).
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.
In 1968 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 saloon. In 1975 a larger 6.9 litre version of M-100 was installed in the W116 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 and air suspension was replaced with a hydraulic suspension.
Famous owners of the Mercedes-Benz 600 have included the following people.
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. Near the beginning of 1978 movie Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?, the character played by Jacqueline Bisset is abducted from Heathrow Airport 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 a Top gear challenge, Jeremy Clarkson compared his 1973 600 to James May's 1972 Rolls-Royce Corniche.
The limousine and landaulet versions of the 600 is favored by various heads of state, particularly dictators and monarchs during the 1960s and 1970s. This is similar to how its predecessor, the 770 limousine, was associated with Nazi Germany, being used as the official state car of Adolf Hitler.
There was also a Pullman version used in the movie High Anxiety by Mel Brooks.
A red 1972 Pullman was seen in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark are seen driving a 600 in the music video for their single "United".
A green 600 serves as the ride for Selena Gomez through the streets of Paris in her 2013 music video for "Slow Down."
Several 600s are seen in several episodes of Amazon's original series The Man in the High Castle, transporting Nazi officials.
Jack Nicholson's character drives a red 600 in The Witches of Eastwick.
In X-Men: The Last Stand, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr arrive in a black 600.
In the Crazy Rich Asians series of novels, Shang Su Yi is regularly chauffeured in a black 600 Pullman.
Technical data Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) (Manufacturer's figures except where stated)
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