Mercedes-Benz 600
Encyclopedia
- See also Mercedes-Benz 600 (disambiguation)Mercedes-Benz 600 (disambiguation)Mercedes-Benz has sold a number of automobiles with the "600" model name:* 1965–1979 W100** 1965–1979 600 Pullman* 1992–1994 W140** 1992–1993 600SEL** 1993 600SEC** 1994 S600** 1994 CL600* 1993–2000 R129** 1993 600SL...
for other models called "600"
The Mercedes-Benz 600 is a large luxury automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
offered in several variants worldwide. Introduced in September 1963, it had very few competitors, these being Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
, Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
, Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
Fleetwood 75, the stretched Lehmann-Peterson Lincoln
Lincoln (automobile)
Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...
, and the Crown Imperial
Imperial (automobile)
Imperial was the Chrysler Corporation's luxury automobile brand between 1955 and 1975, with a brief reappearance in 1981 to 1983.The Imperial name had been used since 1926, but was never a separate make, just the top-of-the-line Chrysler. In 1955, the company decided to spin it off as its own make...
Ghia. Generally, the long-wheel-base (LWB) 600 was intended as chauffeur-driven; many featured a central divider incorporating a powered window between front and rear compartments. Short-wheel-base (SWB) 600 models were designed to be owner-driven.
History
Production began in 1964 and almost 600 variants were built until 1972. The oil crisis, as well as the introduction of new S-Class models, slowed demand. Modest production continued until 1981. During this time, 2,677 vehicles were made.Models
The 600 came in two main variants:- short wheelbase
- 4-door sedan
- 4-door sedan with a power divider window separating the front seats from the rear bench seat.
- long wheelbase chassis
- 4-door PullmanPullman (car or coach)In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
limousine with additional two rear-facing seats behind the driver compartment which was separated by a power divider window (three built). - 6-door limousine with two forward-facing jump-seats positioned at the additional middle two doors and a rear bench-seat.
- A few of the limousines were made with a convertible top over the rear passenger compartment and were called landauletLandauletA landaulet or landaulette is a car body style, "an enclosed sedan or coupé with a folding top at the extreme rear quarter, over the rear seat."...
s. This was mainly intended for official use, by the Pope, or by the German government, e.g. in 1965 during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II, when she was accompanied by Kurt Georg KiesingerKurt Georg KiesingerKurt Georg Kiesinger was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and Chancellor of West Germany from 1 December 1966 until 21 October 1969.-Early career and wartime activities:...
in open-top tour in Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
. Production of this model ended in 1980.
- 4-door Pullman
Mercedes also made two coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
s, one of them was made by Mercedes as a gift for Dr. Rudolf Uhlenhaut
Rudolf Uhlenhaut
Rudolf Uhlenhaut , was an Anglo-German engineer and executive for Mercedes-Benz...
when he retired. He had designed the car, together with Fritz Nallinger
Fritz Nallinger
Dr Professor Fritz Nallinger was a German automobile engineer and executive.Nallinger joined Daimler Benz AG in 1922...
and Karl Wilfert
Karl Wilfert
Karl Wilfert was chief of car body development at Daimler Benz AG between 1959 and 1976.When he died he was recently, and reluctantly, retired...
. A third coupe was constructed from a 600 SWB by Karl Middelhauve and Associates.
A SWB car was also converted into a funeral coach (hearse
Hearse
A hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...
).
Mechanical
The 600 was so heavy that the largest engine of Mercedes at that time, the 6-cylinder 300, was inadequate. Instead a new engine with more than twice the capacity was developed to move the vehicle and its hydraulically powered amenities, the 6.3 L V8V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
"M100
Mercedes-Benz M100 engine
The Mercedes-Benz M100 Engine was introduced in the 1963 Mercedes-Benz 600 with 6.3 litres, and later also used in the Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 from 1968 onwards, and even larger, in the 1970s Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9....
" engine with single overhead camshafts (SOHC), and Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
mechanical fuel injection
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
.
The 600's "M-100" engine and hydraulics were fitted to the 300SEL 6.3
Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 started out as a private venture in 1966 by company engineer Erich Waxenberger.- Concept :Waxenberger's principle was simple: take the powerful 6.3 litre V8 Mercedes-Benz M100 engine from the luxurious Mercedes-Benz 600 limousine, and fit it into the regular...
model in 1968, creating - at that time - the worlds' fastest four-door sedan. Upon the introduction of the "W116" chassis, a larger version of M-100 was installed in the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9
Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9
The Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 is a high-performance version of the S-Class luxury saloon. It was built on its own assembly line by Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart, Germany and based on the long-wheelbase version of the W116 chassis introduced in 1972...
.
The 600 featured many luxury features, including a complex hydraulic 150 bars (2,176 psi) pressure system that powered everything from the windows and seats to the automatically closing doors, sun-roof, and boot lid. Adjustable air suspension
Air suspension
Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an engine driven or electric air pump or compressor. This pump pressurizes the air, using compressed air as a spring. Air suspension replaces conventional steel springs. If the engine is left off for an extended period, the car will settle...
gave the car a good ride quality
Ride quality
Ride quality refers to the degree of protection offered vehicle occupants from uneven elements in the road surface, or the terrain if driving off-road. A car with very good ride quality is also a comfortable car to ride in. Cars which disturb vehicle occupants with major or minor road...
and handling over any road surface.
Owners
Apart from the Pope and governments, famous owners of the 600 have included celebrities such as Coco ChanelCoco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
, Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Jay Kay, Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis...
, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, Simon Spies
Simon Spies
Simon Ove Christian Oglivie Spies was a famous Danish tycoon, best known for starting the charter airline Spies Rejser, which is owned by MyTravel today....
, Ronnie Wood, Bob Jane
Bob Jane
Robert "Bob" Jane is an Australian former race car driver and prominent businessman. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a four-time Australian Touring Car Champion, Jane is perhaps known best nowadays for his chain of tyre retailers,...
, Frank Packer
Frank Packer
Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer, KBE , was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network.-Biography:...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
, and Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
. Communist leaders include Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
, Josip Broz-Tito, Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
, Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
, Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
, Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
, Kim Jong-Il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
also owns a landaulet (both seen in the 65th anniversary parade in Pyongyang on October 10, 2010) and religious leader Guru Maharaj Ji. African revolutionaries Idi Amin Dada, Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
and the former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
had four 600s including a Landaulet
Landaulet
A landaulet or landaulette is a car body style, "an enclosed sedan or coupé with a folding top at the extreme rear quarter, over the rear seat."...
, a 1981 bulletproof and a six-door version.
Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
royal court and Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
owned multiple 600 models that were used for official and personal use of the late Shah and his court. Some of them were sold after the 1979 islamic revolution and 3 of them are in the National Car Museum of Iran
National Car Museum of Iran
The National Car Museum of Iran is a museum in Karaj, Iran, opened in the year 2001. Inside the museums are classic cars owned by the last Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty, Mohammad Reza Shah. There are two parts to the complex...
in Karaj
Karaj
Karaj is a city in and the capital of Karaj County, Alborz Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 1,377,450, in 385,955 families, , making it the fifth-largest city in Iran after Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan and Tabriz.) It is situated west of Tehran, at the foothills of the Alborz...
.
Other notable owners include Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
, Frederik Willem de Klerk
Frederik Willem de Klerk
Frederik Willem de Klerk , often known as F. W. de Klerk, is the former seventh and last State President of apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994...
, Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
, and Archbishop Makarios III of Cyprus.
Former Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Yi
Chen Yi (communist)
Chen Yi was a Chinese communist military commander and politician. He served as the 2nd Mayor of Shanghai and the 2nd Foreign Minister of China.-Biography:Chen was born in Lezhi, near Chengdu, Sichuan, into a moderately wealthy magistrate's family....
, Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
, wife of the first Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
- Deng Yingchao
Deng Yingchao
Deng Yingchao , was the wife of the first Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai, Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1983 to 1988 and a member of the Communist Party of China.-Biography:...
, and the former King of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
when he fled to Beijing after the Cambodian coup of 1970
Cambodian coup of 1970
The Cambodian coup of 1970 refers to the removal of the Cambodian Head of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, after a vote in the National Assembly on 18 March 1970. Emergency powers were subsequently invoked by the Prime Minister Lon Nol, who became effective head of state...
all used the 600.