Mercedes-Benz 600

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.

History

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. , 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.

Models

The 600 came in two 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), 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 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.

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 a Bosch-made intermittently injecting multipoint manifold injection. It developed .

The 600's complex 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.

Notable owners

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

Celebrities and tycoons

* Aristotle Onassis
* Bob Jane
* Bobby Womack asserts that Janis Joplin was inspired to the song ''Mercedes Benz'' after a ride with him in his new 600
* Coco Chanel
* David Bowie
* Eric Clapton
* Elizabeth Taylor
* Elvis Presley
* Frank Packer
* Florian Schneider
* George Harrison
* Herbert von Karajan
* Hugh Hefner
* John Lennon
* Jay Kay
* Jack Nicholson
* Jay Leno, who had his 600 (a 1972 SWB) fitted with a supercharger by Karl Middelhauve, making it the only 600 Kompressor in existence
* Jeremy Clarkson
* Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis
* Karen Carpenter
* Mireille Mathieu
* Pete Townshend owns a six-door version
* Ringo Starr
* Ronnie Wood
* Rowan Atkinson
* Robert Wood Johnson III
* Udo Jürgens

Politicians and royalty

* Anastasio Somoza Debayle, President of Nicaragua bought a SWB for his wife Hope Portocarrero from the first production run.
* Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand
* Chen Yi, former Chinese Foreign Minister
* Daniel Moi
* Deng Xiaoping
* Deng Yingchao, wife of Zhou Enlai, the first Chinese Prime Minister
* Enver Hoxha
* François "Papa Doc" Duvalier
* Francois Tombalbaye
* Ferdinand Marcos, who owned four, including a landaulet, a 1981 bulletproof model and a six-door version
* F. W. de Klerk

* Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia
* Hassan II of Morocco, King of Morocco
* Hastings Kamuzu Banda
* Hosni Mubarak
* Idi Amin
* Jim Fouché
* Josip Broz Tito, 1971 Pullman landaulet
* Jean-Bédel Bokassa
* Jean-Claude Duvalier
* John Vorster
* Jomo Kenyatta
* King Khalid of Saudi Arabia
* Kim Il-sung
* Kim Jong-il
* Kim Jong-un; the North Koreans have also owned a landaulet (both seen in the 65th anniversary parade in Pyongyang on October 10, 2010)
* Leonid Brezhnev
* 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
* King Mohammed VI of Morocco
* Muhammad Zia Ul Haq (12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general who served as the President of Pakistan