Mercedes 600: 60 Years of Germany's Best Car?
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- Discover 60 Years of the Mercedes 600, a Captivating Automotive Icon!
From John Lennon to Idi Amin, the Mercedes 600 has fascinated the rich and powerful for six decades, symbolizing prestige and opulence. It's not just a car; it's an extraordinary event that has attracted diverse personalities worldwide, from presidents to popes. We delve into the remarkable story of this global icon and its illustrious passengers. From royalty to absolute rulers, the Mercedes 600 has graced the garages of the influential. Explore the cutting-edge technology and personalized interiors that set this car apart in the automotive world.
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00:00 Mercedes 600
02:30 Test Drives, Bulletproof Mercedes 600 & Presidents
05:15 Saddam Hussein Mercedes 600
06:30 Roy Orbinson Mercedes 600
08.00 Mercedes 600 Engineering, Interiors & Hydraulics
10:00 Mercedes 600 Models
11:20 Mercedes 600 club
13:00 Jay Leno Mercedes 600
14:30 Mercedes 600 car of the rich, the famous & rockstars
Report: Gerhard Sonnleitner
Camera: Peter Toth
Editing: Manuela Reuss
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REV - The Global Auto and Mobility Show from Deutsche Welle
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Is this the best German car ever produced?
In its day? Yes.
After 300 SL maybe
@@redstream1237 the 2 were decades apart. The 300SL from the 1950’s & the 600 came later & the 2 cars were polar opposites. 1 a super sports & the other a limo. 1 thing they have in common is they represent the epitome of excellence only MB can do.
I prefer the Mercedes W124, but still a great car thoughMy fantasy would be to drive a Mercedes convertible top down with me in the driver's seat and my friends in the passenger seats
Dictator car
Sadly, Mercedes-Benz is a very different company today. The uncompromising desire to build the best cars in the world is no longer the motivating force behind today's vehicles.
So true. In the 90s it changed from an engineer driven company to a corporation managed by accountants focused on profit. Today they design mostly for China.
If I remember correctly DB lost money on every single car. …So
Too much glitz and not enough technology, and the styling has gotten so garish now almost cartoonist in a way.....
@@morphyon Yeah, you are correct about that. The 600 was so expensive but they still were not financially viable - although, as a halo car it did make the point that MB built the finest car in the world. The Rolls-Royce Phantom V was more elegant (but old-fashioned) with a more beautiful interior than the 600 - but it was a technical dinosaur by comparison.
Since the last pure s-class we saw is w140,
Sadly after that M-B lost it's glory of manufacturing top notch traditional cars. 😢😢
The Grosser will never be surpassed for its presence and status. A true icon.
Couldn't agree more. It's an instant symbol of extreme power and influence.
Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz are the best luxury cars in the world!
It was and still is the BEST car in the world 🌎
Never understood how the name "Grosser" came up. It doesn't make sense in German. Should be "The Grosse" if you want to say "the big one". Grosser is wrong case.
@@derpinguin7003 its called grosser because it was grossly over engineered!!!
For my entire life these 600 Mercedes have been my favorite and nothing can replace them in class and comfort!
Great video! I took the photo of Amin’s 600 Pullman shown at 0:35 :)
Awesome to see it feature in a video.
Thank you for your terrific photography skills!
I recently had the opportunity to sit in a new Maybach. It is unquestionably a marvel of technology and brings comfort to an amazing level. what I can say as the owner of a 600 is that given the choice of one or the other today, I would take the 600, The 600 cannot compare to a modern day Maybach in terms of luxury and even technical advancements. Here is the big difference….When you see a Maybach drive by, your immediate reaction is “there goes a rich person”. When you drive by in a 600, the reaction is “ there goes a special person”. The 600 has many features that are common today in the least expensive of cars. But, there were no other cars in the early 60’s that had them. Mercedes was a true innovator. The technology in the 600 would not be copied by others until many years later. The 600 was and still is a special car that is owned and driven by special people. To drive one is to understand this.
Couldn't agree more. I would say that the new "Maybach" is just a trim level. The '02 W240 is more of a true successor to the W100.
Or there goes the blob car, round like jellyfish😂
Designed and build in the era that a Mercedes Benz car meant something. Bulletproof,reliable engineering meant to last.
Just got back from Germany for holiday and even now every day i saw many different versions of the best car they made,the iconic W124. Most were in excellent condition and still daily driven. They still love this Benz. It is the last proper build Mercedes for me.
BTW,Jeremy Clarkson had a 600 also
I rode in one in Beirut in the 1970s and was amazed at how smooth the ride was. Beautiful, breathtaking car- It's angles are beautiful and in my opinion beats Rolls Royce any day! The car has a timeless look and I wish they would still keep making it.
Thanks for sharing!
They exist as taxis to this day. There's another documentary by DW about it.
In the 70‘s I worked in luxurious hotels in Switzerland and I have fond memories of the 600. The Montreux Palace had one for its guests and in St.Moritz and Gstaad we had guests staying for weeks at the time and their 600. In one place in St.Moritz all guest cars where parked underground, there was even a carwash in the parkade and each and every time the car (and often a MB600) was requested, it was washed and polished before being driven up to the lobby!
Well，Mao personally didn't have the 600, he rode in hongqi like the rest of Chinese leaders ,but china did have two 600 pullman, both were serving for foreign Office and one was for the delivery of foreign guests(but mostly they rode in hongqi as well) the other was for the head of the foreigners office,Chen Yi ( who was among the many important founders of PROC)，but his car was I believe originally given as a gift by west Germany and was given back to Germany again in late 80s and early 90s. At that time, a guy from Volkswagen came to provide technical support and saw this car so he asked whether he could buy it, but Chinese was like, "take it, it's for free".
My white Mercedes 600 SWB was entered in the 2000km Targa Tasmania Rally in 1993.
Remarkable performance, outrunning a 1960's Ferrari 250.
Ultra comfortable, but requiring several hours of all kinds of maintenance at the end of every day in this five day event.
It showed many of the smaller cars a thing or two about handling.
On descending mountainous terrain at speed, brakefluid would come to the boil without warning and you would not have brakes for a little while until the fluid had cool down a bit.
That gets the blood pumping..
Owning a Mercedes 600 also means 'Service before use' at unpredictable times , especially checking for leaks in the highly pressurized 'Komfort Hydraulic' System.
The hydraulic pressure on the side windows is so strong that it could break a person's arm, hand or finger.
Definitely not a car to leave children in unsupervised, because of the lethal window operation and the 'touchy' handbrake that disengages when the gear leaver is moved.. 🤔
A 600 is a little like owning a boat.
The happiest times are when you acquire it and then again when you have successfully sold it.
My bonus was the exhilarating time driving at top speeds in Targa Tasmania and completing the event without scratching the beast.
About 20 years ago I spotted a brown Mercedes 600 (SWB) in the wild. I was (am, and have always been) a HUGE Mercedes fan. So when the owner was kind enough to have a quick chat and demonstrate the hydraulic windows, seats and boot/trunk, I was completely in awe! These cars are truly special, and I sincerely hope _every_ Mercedes aficionado is able to see one up close and in person!
Best cars ever made. I would take one of those before any new Mercedes or Maybach. I want quality engineering and materials. I don't want a computer on wheels.
You can see it dripping hydraulic fluid when it's on the lift at 11:14.
This was the main reason I did not buy one.
Maintenance nightmare
Tricky to repair and potentially extremely costly.
Also must switch off at the main supply in engine compartment and engage a window until pressure has dropped completely.
My mechanic did not observe the latter and nearly lost an eye when a tiny piston came out like a missile and grazed his cheek close to his eye.
Legendary tank! 👏🏻😎
I think they won't ever do a car like this again, nowadays they focus on short-term satisfaction, pleasure and even luxury. I don't see any of today's super-luxurious cars, even a Maybach, surviving the challenge of time and lasting as long as this car can, even with proper maintenance.
This was a car built to last and passed down between generations, something that today's cars aren't made of. Which is a shame, really.
There's a newer version 600 floating around in the US, you'd have to Google it to see a pic/video of it, and it looks like a modern 600 should look too.....
Would also highly recommend watching Jay Leno’s Garage’s Mercedes 600 episode. He also BTW used to deliver these vehicles to customers when he worked for a Mercedes dealership back in the 1960s.
It's amazing what Mercedes did with what is essentially a square, slab sided box which they put together in a most pleasing and graceful package. Even today it is capable of leaving one breathless.
Bauhaus effect !😊
I had two oportunities in my live to be driven in a Mercedes 600: once in Sweden by Sandvik Steel and another one in the Netherlands by Hoogovens Steel.
Both an unique experiance!
Benz is the greatest....greetings from Jamaica 🇯🇲
Jay Leno remembers driving them from the Baltimore Harbor up to NYC, as a teen working for the dealership !
And now he owns one, with the distinction of being the only 600 Kompressor in the world.
Oh how things have changed, not only at Mercedes but in the German auto industry. Planned obsolescence and profitability are the new mantras.
Does someone force you to buy those?
Greatest car ever made. Historic vehicle
I really like the video and as a mechanic who has been involved in many full and partial restorations of the W100, I can say that this is just a spit in the ocean of information about this complicated masterpiece.
Idi Armin would often eat the livers of people he killed so they couldn’t put a curse on him. He was literally insane, much like Nicolae Ceausescu was insane too. He would have thousands of people paint the leaves of trees along the route he intended to drive to make his trip more scenic. I can only imagine what Saddam’s 600 saw especially when his psychopathic sons were growing up.
Stop believing Hollywood propaganda
I trully adores this Mercedes Benz, the 600 or W100 or M100, whatever you called it.
I fall in love with this very car when I see Top Gear when Jeremy Clarkson compare his Mercedes 600 "Große" against James May's Rolls-Royce Corniche, that's around 2020, even though now in 2023 I just 20 y.o but I absolutely wanted to buy one of this car especially wanted to bought it from UK or whatever country with RHD because I born and live in Indonesia which is RHD.
After searching, I just staggered of what features this car have. In that time, fuel-injection V8 engine, hydraulic power steering, an adjustable air-suspension, hydraulic doors, hydraulic boot lid, hydraulic seats, anything, from a car that first released in 1963 but developed from 1950s. The dedication of reliability and for countinously used is just staggering. Forget the mpg or any sort of that, this is one of the peak of car engineering of any time, no wonder then, it was the most expensive car you could buy... in the world.
Yes, the feel of luxury and comfortable is different from nowadays luxury cars or even the luxury cars from the same era. It feels like you are one of the most important or to put it politely, an adored people by many many people. But, for me, it's not for that, because I like classic, old cars like that, so, it's a hobby for me.
If, I go to a replica, it just not the same. I mean, yes it is totally just like the 600 exterior and interior but, when you replicate something just because you can't buy it, it'll never be same when you actually have or had ride on it.
Hopefully sometime in the future, I could buy that car (no replica) and people who wanted that car could also buy it.
It would cost more to replicate then the price of a used one.
In Australia a neat RHD 600 was sold a few months ago at Auction for around A$160.000
What an amazing,ecstatic & informative documentary 😊👏🏿
It’s a truly beautiful and awesome car.
The German government really should make it their official states vehicle again!
One of my favorite classic cars
Fun fact. Jack Nicholson bought the 600 Pullman he drove in the movie The Witches of Eastwick and restored it.....
Mercedes Benz is the brand will never forget ❤ forever
I valet parked Mike Illitch's brand-new S600 in 1993, and was just blown away by the fact there was a cell phone integrated into the frickin' dashboard! Completely unheard of at the time.
Just in case you don't know, the car in this video is the W100 The car you parked would have been an S Class with a 6 litre engine, the W140.
In 1987 my Saab 9000 Turbo had a neat fully integrated phone key pad integrated in the dashboard.
It was a Canadian system
Mercedes 600: the only car that can get a hippie and a ruthless dictator to see eye-to-eye.
One of my favourite cars. It had such presence!
The BEST part of this video is when the 600 passed a B class at 1:58 😂😂😂 i cant stop watching this video, i can listen to mr Schellhammer all day long!!
The Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) is certainly one of the best cars ever, but The Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 is certainly one of them, they share the same engine, in fact if you didn't have money for a 600 you bought a 300 SEL.
A Mercedes 300SL 6.3 that weighed less than two tons would take off like a demented clockwork toy.
Breathtaking and dangerous when applying brakes at speed, because under heavy braking the swing axle would turn the rear wheels to maximum positive camber and the car would lose traction.
Not for the faint hearted...
I rallied one of these beasts in 1994.
Thank You So Much for this !!!
Interesting that the revival of the Maybach name and luxury never had the presence of the 600. The 600 outdid the RR Phantom V & VI - a luxurious dinosaur v sophisticated power house.
Once BMW got their hands on Rolls-Royce with the Phantom VII onwards, they had the style and presence that Maybach lacked... A high tech opulent bloated S class never screamed - FABULOUS in the way the 600 did, and now the current Phantoms...
The closest thing to a 600 Pullman Landau was the single example build by Hooper in London from 1989-1991. The Hooper Rolls-Royce Emperor State Landaulette was expanded in every dimension between the base of the front windscreen to base of the rear window. 40 inches longer than the Silver Spirit donor car. 2 inch higher side windows and 4 inch higher roof and 5 inch longer windscreen.
The Hooper Landaulette cost close to US$1m and was to be the first of a series of landaulettes, but increasing security issues in the world sphere strangled demand.
I was chauffeur and custodian of this 'Chariot of Dreams' in 1993 for a tour of Australian Motor shows, charity events and street parades including St Patrick's Day in Sydney and leading the Melbourne AIDS Candlelight Vigil parade. Inclusions of a rear mohair convertible, lift out targa section for standing for ceremonial occasions, rear facing centre seats with their own sunroof, fold out leather tables with built in Toshiba laptop & printer. Cocktail cabinet with crystal tumblers plus slide-out veneer drawer with champagne flutes. Solid silver his & hers Asperys grooming sets, Philips Carin LCD TV & stereo.
Closed chauffeur's compartment with electric division and intercom to rear lounge.
X frame exoskeleton under car to add stiffness to a long part open monocoque chassis.
Like the 600 the Emperor Landaulette was rather spritely and maneuverable for such a large beast that was too long for a 20 foot container. The 600 Pullman would have been even longer. I wonder if it was too wide to fit in a container??
Great car the sense of occasion for those fortunate few 🚗🚘🚙🇩🇪⛽️
Uma Thurman Poison Ivy car. Drove by Bane in Batman and Robin.
Back then a Mercedes was on another level. Quality and status mattered more than big screens.
So beautiful and timeless ❤❤❤ ❤
There is no greater Mercedes sedan. This is one of the best, if not the best, sedans ever created. It's a must have car for serious Mercedes collectors. It's not for the faint of heart or wallet.
Great video, DW. Cheers!
Thank you 👍
I have the full size sales book of the Grosser from around 1968. Given to me by my old German neighbour, Ulrich W.
In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. has 4 600 Models used from 1969 until 1986 as a Presidential Car and one model was now currently displayed in Presidential Car Museum in Quezon City
Interesting clip. President Banda of Malawi had one.
You forgot to mention and show George Harrison's grey Mercedes Benz 600, he drove it, he did not have a chauffer. George Harrison was a Beatle for those who may not know
Elvis Presley had one too.
Ringo Star had a Pullman too in silver with stars spangled all over the seats. I think it now belongs to a a transport tycoon in Melbourne Australia
I didn't know that@@helmuthhaass3631
As these became common in the news flicks of the sixties and seventies we car nuts thought they where rather puny compared to the 770 of the WK2 reels. However they have grown over the years no pun intended. They surley did age like wine.
Mr. Sohnen thinks that his car has a pneumatic system. But I guess it makes sense coming from someone that doesn’t like to get on the ground to service his car.
If this car is made in GTA, the name would be Benefactor Kaiserreich
Benefactor: In-game parody of Mercedes
Kaiserreich : German for "empire", a reference to its use by royals and dictator
10:24 Owned by Sultan of Johore, Malaysia. Noticed the royal crest on the number plate.
Amazing how a 20 minutes DW feature on the mighty MB600, in a storyline full of big names, just missed to mention the one that matters. Paul Bracq, IS the French designer of this unique luxury german car.
The presidency here in 🇵🇹 also had one.
Cheers
Thanks for your comment! We did not focus so much on the developement of the car. In fact Paul Bracq had a large share of the design, that was created under the direction of Friedrich Geiger with intense involvement of Fritz Nallinger also.
the best
@@DWREV Thank you for your kind insight. Very cool.
Maybe you could enter those details in the description.
Cheers
Best German car ever produced = Best car ever produced.
Even the original Mission Impossible series in the 1960’s had some episodes showing these.
Indeed. Was just going to write this, but you already did :)
I had the opportunity to take a tour in Mercedes benz factory in Vaihingen Stuttgart Germany. When you buy a car from the Ramstein AB Base, you can pay the dealer to go with you to pick up the car, and you can go on a tour to see the original ventage car. unfortunately, i can only afford the C300 model 2011. I still have the car, and it drives great.
My wife and I had the tour back in 1991 when we picked up our 1991 Mercedes 190E 2.3. We kept it for 14 years. It was a great little car. The tour was great, and the Mercedes technicians made sure we were completely pleased with the car before we left the factory. Our stay at the Hotel International in Stuttgart was wonderful too!
I once sat in one at the local Mercedes Benz dealer, I had my walkman and played Eon's song the spice must flow I was changed
金に余裕があれば絶対手に入れたい車
It gives you a homely feeling .Nice touch !
Mercedes should come with a Nee Grösser. The K770 and 600 were the Grössers back 60 and almost 90 years ago, so time to have a new one!
I think Queen Elisabeth II hated the British cars she needed to drive in in the UK after she was driven in the 600 landaulet during her visit to Germany. For sure she needed to hide not to embarrass the UK car industry.
Id totally buy one someday
Hands down, the ultimate luxury car because it runs non stop. German engineering.
One of the most iconic lines about this car “camp or camp kommandant”
Am watching from Uganda 🇺🇬
My dad had a '66 SWB in light blue metallic, like Elvis's. Purchased new at the factory and shipped to the States after a tour of Europe. He kept it ten years and it cost him less than our neighbor who bought his-and-hers Fleetwoods every two years. I'm still in love with that car and wish I could afford one myself.
Your Dad's last name wasn't Fisher was it? If it was, I remember the car, and its beautiful color.
@@ronwinkles2601 No, sorry!
Mercedes Benz is my favorite car manufacturer, I'm so committed to a point where I've never bought a BMW
Es un mercedes demasiado fino .estuvo en las líneas de montaje de siselfingen casi cuarenta años.ininterrumpidos. su adiós fue a principios del 2000 muy apetecido
The King of Morocco ❤❤
George Harrison also had a Mercedes 600 - not just John Lennon :D
I had the chance to buy Idi Amin's Mercedes 600 when I was in England back in 1983. It had been a repo held by the Bank of England. It was in poor condition, and it smelled terrible. Back in Germany, I owned a 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI owned by actor Curd Juergens. I was torn between selling it or shipping it back to the US. A young man offered to trade me a 1966 Mercedes 600 for the Stutz. I passed on the trade because it had hydraulic problems. He eventually paid me cash for the Stutz. I sold it for $26,000 back in 1986. I wish I still had it.
I am surprised you guys didn't featured Jeremy Clarkson's 600 since he is one of the top automotive journalist.
Super Car.😍🥇🏆
I thought it was Ringo who owned a Pullman, there is a video of him alighting one outside Abbey Rd
JUST AN FYI: Ringo Starr was the first Beatles to own a Mercedes 600.. John only owned the car for two years before selling it to George Harrison.
Tem mais qualidade que qualquer outro carro mesmo rolls royce bentleys cadillacs e a sua longevidade é prova disso
It was also a car for former late President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos. A particular model considered to be very iconic and owned by the most influential people on planet earth 🌎.
Yes and today the car can be seen at Presidential Car Museum in Quezon City
@@darwinqpenaflorida3797 Yes bec when I was in elementary and coming from a school near Malacañang we used to cheer the former first lady and she was in that particular car with her beautiful face the window rolled down with her blush on so radiant and smooth, I cannot forget that event.
@@observations2011 Yes and also on a museum is Rolls-Royce car owned by Imelda Marcos
@@darwinqpenaflorida3797 thanks for the info, I will visit one of these days
@@observations2011 Yeah you’re welcome and hope to visit the museum of Presidential Cars
Nice film. Read that the Cambodian despot PolPot, Tito and Kim of the DPRK all had 600s. And they absolutely loved it.
At 36 seconds the narrator says "It looks like the kind of car that somebody important should be driving." I have to disagree, rather the kind of car that somebody important should be riding in, driven by a cheauffer.
Yes, that was completely out of context.
Which they had made a newer version in the 80s and 90s..actually the w140 would have been perfect elongated to 600 length.🤔😉
Best of the best. Mercedes-Benz..........
I agree to - never again. The cars of today are a 100x better than the 600 of the by gone era but they don't mean as much in any way
Hugh Hefner had one in Chicago
Wie einfach noch ein 300 SL auf der hebebühne steht ...❤
Super 🇱🇰🇱🇰🇱🇰
Back in the 60s here in Australia I would look in the WHEELS magazine Dad would buy and check the price sheet for cars and it was always the Mercedes 600 Pullman that was the most expensive.
Papa Doc Duvalier had a blue one and was in a museum in Port Au Prince but I think it was destroyed along with the museum in the big earthquake.
Thanks for the information
I personally believe that Mercedes should have kept producing the W100 chassis. That would have allowed them to compete directly with Rolls Royce and Bentley.
I was a butler at the Playboy Mansion in the 70's and we had two 600s. Hef liked to stop at Taco Bell on the way back from the airport after landing in the Big Bunny.
I guess I will stick with my E320 till I win the Lottery :)
class and allure.
The car for presidents divas and dictators alike . A favourite of the South African apartheid government in the 60s and 70 s
Mercedes is the best I enjoyed seeing John Lennons' WHITE with tan😃
Divided by Ideology and Culture and Thoughts but United by an Single car Mercedes 600
Whoever says Music brings everyone togther stand shattered Rather its United by Mercedes 😊
A Mercedes Benz slk230k saved mine and my friends life thru one of the most horrible crashes this life long car enthusiast has ever laid whiteness too, these are quality automobiles that have earned the respect level they are known for. Thank you MB ❤
Marshal Tito had couple of those. On few occasions when Tito was visiting my home town back in the 70’s as a school kid we would have to go and stand alongside the road where Tito’s caravan would pass by whether that was rainy or snowy day but never sunny, I remember that well, we would have to stand there and wait. When the caravan finally arrived I actually never saw Tito but I remember that Mercedes like I’m looking at it today. Whatta car.
I'm pretty astonished that "parts are hard to come by".
If you have a humdrum midsize 1960s or 1970s Mercedes, you still get OEM parts. They'll be expensive, sure, but they'll be supplied to your friendly dealer within days via Mercedes' logistics.
The 600, however, doesn't appear to get that support. Prices look like from the black market and I've seen a vid about a specialist American MB 600 restauration shop that has converted a few 600 into pickup trucks for sheer lack of parts for the rear body.
I know that making parts in tiny numbers is costly - but I guess the clientele will gladly pay very steep prices to keep their cars moving and Mercedes should support the maintenance of their former flagships.
The grosser is the kind of vehicle that famous people and dictators and drug lords would want.
Examples:
Pablo’s Escobar s600 limo,
And any cold blooded dictator,
Elvis Presley s600 and any diplomats with money.
(And the grosser was the most expensive car in the world back in the days, that’s why many famous and controversial people had it)
Better than nowadays Amgs promoted by the consumption of satanist rappers or isis refugees or?
I just hope I live long enough to get miner restored!
As I remember, there was two types of Mercedes-Benz Pullman: with 4 doors and with 6 doors.
Portugal had ordered only 2 Mercedes-Benz 600: one with short wheelbase and the other with long wheelbase (only with 4 doors with seats vis-a-vis).
This one was ordered for the Prime Minister in the last years of the sixteen´s.
I had the honour of be the first one in my country, to seat on the upholstery leather back seats. I´ll never forget the extraordinary sensation of being in such a luxury environment.
I have yet the factory catalogue of both versions and I suppose that there will be only a few in the world.
The sight of it just screams dictator