Mercedes-Benz 600

Mercedes-Benz W100
600

Manufacturer	Mercedes-Benz
Production	1963–1981 2,677 built SWB: 2,190 LWB: 428 Landaulet: 59
Predecessor	Mercedes-Benz W112 (direct) Mercedes-Benz W189 (ideological)
Successor	No Direct Successor Mercedes-Benz W221 S600 Pullman (ideological)
Class	Full-size limousine

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

See also Mercedes-Benz 600 (disambiguation) for other models called "600"

The Mercedes-Benz 600 was a large luxury automobile offered in several variants worldwide. Introduced in September 1963, it had very few competitors, these being certain models of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, Cadillac Fleetwood 75, the stretched Lehmann-Peterson Lincoln, and the Chrysler Imperial Crown 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.

A single example of 4-door landaulet was built by Mercedes in 1967. The vehicle was commissioned by Count von Berckheim, the ex-racing driver. This car combined the handling qualities of a short-wheelbase design with the traditional virtues of the landaulet.

• long wheelbase chassis
  • 4-door Pullman 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 landaulets. 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 Kiesinger in open-top tour in Baden-Württemberg. Production of this model ended in 1980.

Mercedes also made two coupés, one of them was made by Mercedes as a gift for Dr. Rudolf Uhlenhaut when he retired. He had designed the car, together with Fritz Nallinger and Karl Wilfert. A third coupe was constructed from a 600 SWB by Karl Middelhauve and Associates.^{[citation needed]}

A SWB car was also converted into a funeral coach (hearse). More recently, in the 2000s, two SWB cars (one a 1965 model and the other a 1966) were converted into Chevrolet El Camino-esque pick-up trucks. Both are virtually identical but with different paint schemes. The cars were created by Karl Middlehauve of Wausau, Wisconsin along with a handful of craftsmen.

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 V8 "M100" engine with single overhead camshafts (SOHC), and Bosch mechanical fuel injection.

The 600's "M-100" engine and hydraulics were fitted to the 300SEL 6.3 model in 1968, creating - at that time - the world's 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.

The 600 featured many luxury features, including a complex hydraulic 150-bar (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 gave the car a good ride quality and handling over any road surface.

Owners

Apart from the Pope and governments, famous owners of the 600 have included celebrities such as Coco Chanel, Hugh Hefner, Elizabeth Taylor, John Lennon, George Harrison, Karen Carpenter, Jay Kay, Aristotle Onassis, Jack Nicholson, Simon Spies, Ronnie Wood, Bob Jane, Frank Packer, Elvis Presley, Rowan Atkinson and Jeremy Clarkson. Notable dictators have included Park Chung-hee, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Josip Broz-Tito, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Enver Hoxha, Leonid Brezhnev, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-Il also owned 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 and the former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos had four 600s including a Landaulet, a 1981 bulletproof and a six-door version.^{[citation needed]}

In Senegal, the first regime (1960–1980) under president Leopold Sedar Senghor had in its fleet three 600s, a short wheel base, a long wheel base and a Landaulet. These were later 'replaced' by the W126 based Carat Limousine.

In Colombia, former drug dealer Pablo Escobar owned a LWB six door 600. This example was destroyed in an attack towards Pablo in 1988 in Medellin.

There exists one example in Chile, which was the favorite limousine of President Augusto Pinochet and is currently owned by Joachim Roosen, a resident of Chile and who is the second owner.^{[citation needed]}

Iran royal court and Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi 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 in Karaj.^{[citation needed]}

Other notable owners include Anwar Sadat, Hafez al-Assad, Sukarno, Frederik Willem de Klerk, Éamon de Valera, and Archbishop Makarios III of Cyprus.^{[citation needed]}

Former Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Yi, Deng Xiaoping, wife of the first Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai - Deng Yingchao, and the former King of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk when he fled to Beijing after the Cambodian coup of 1970 all used the 600.

In television, a Mercedes Benz 600 limousine was used by Angela Channing, matriarch of the fictional Channing/Gioberti family, 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.

The Mercedes 600 has also featured in the James Bond films, most notably as transport of the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever. Kamal Khan is also seen leaving Sotheby's in a 600 in Octopussy.

Technical data

Technical data Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) (Manufacturer's figures except where stated)

Mercedes-Benz	600	600 Pullman
Produced:	1963–1981
Engine:	6.3 L V8, front-mounted
Bore x Stroke:	103 mm x 95 mm
Displacement:	6332 cc
Max. Power @ rpm:	250 PS (180 kW; 250 hp) @ 4000
Max. Torque @ rpm:	500 N·m (370 lb·ft) @ 2800
Compression Ratio:	9.00: 1
Fuel feed:	Sequential fuel injection, Bosch injection pump
Fuel tank capacity:	112 L (29.6 US gal; 24.6 imp gal)
Valvetrain:	SOHC, duplex chains
Cooling:	Water
Gearbox:	4-speed automatic rear wheel drive, axle ratio 3.23:1
Electrical system:	12 volt
Front suspension:	Double wishbones, air suspension, rubber springs, stabilizing bar
Rear suspension::	Low-pivot swing axle, radius arms, self-leveling air suspension, rubber springs, stabilizing bar
Brakes:	Disc brakes (Ø 291 mm two-caliper front, 294.5 mm rear), power assisted
Steering:	Recirculating ball steering, power assisted
Body structure:	Sheet steel, unibody construction
Dry weight:	2,600 kg (5,700 lb)	2,770 kg (6,100 lb)
Loaded weight:	3,050 kg (6,700 lb)	3,340 kg (7,400 lb)
Track front/ rear:	1,587 mm (62.5 in) 1,581 mm (62.2 in)
Wheelbase:	3,200 mm (130 in)	3,900 mm (150 in)
Length:	5,450 mm (215 in)	6,240 mm (246 in)
Width:	1,950 mm (77 in)	1,950 mm (77 in)
Height:	1,500 mm (59 in)	1,510 mm (59 in)
Tyre/Tire sizes:	9.00H15 Supersport (6PR)
Top speed:	204.8 km/h (127.3 mph)	200 km/h (120 mph)
Fuel Consumption (estimates):	24.0 litres per 100 kilometres (11.8 mpg-imp; 9.80 mpg-US)	26.0 litres per 100 kilometres (10.9 mpg-imp; 9.05 mpg-US)
Price Germany USA:	DM 56,500 (1964)− DM 144,100 (1978) $ 22,000 (1965)	DM 63,500 (1964)− DM 165,500 (1978) $ 24,000 (1965)

External links

• Presentation of the 600 SWB at Amelia Island
• Begegnungen: Drei Zeitzeugen des 600
• International owner's group 600, 6.3 and 6.9
• MB 600 restoration company