A visit to the Royal 60s : Mercedes 600

Its not always that cars create a revolution in the auto industry, but when such a technology comes into existence none of the automakers give up the opportunity . When it comes to to this car , it created a revolution that no other car of its time would ever imagine.

The very look of this car can tell you the grandeur and command it possessed. Since hydraulics were a technology that went into extensive use during this car's design phase , engineers at Mercedes came up with one of the most complex and luxurious tech of those days and if you are thinking it to be the hydraulics , YES! you are right.

The 600 was one hydraulic playhouse where everything from wheels to windows were all hydraulic, it had all the features a luxury car of the present day had .This car was sold in the UK for a whopping amount , making this car the most expensive car in the world as of 1963. This almighty price and looks were not only for the technology involved but for the jaw dropping stares of people and the respect one earned.The car was competing with other automakers like RollsRoyce , Lincoln and Bentley.

This marvellous piece of engineering was powered by a 6.3 litre V8 producing 230hp, making the engine the largest engine to be produced in post war Germany. During the design of this car , Mercedes filed 15 new patents for hydraulics alone. The design was streamlined and the central grille made the car instantly recognisable . This car was not completely made to be chauffeur driven , there were several versions of the car . The sedan was a car that could be owner driven , the 600 Pullman was a limousine and the Landaulet was a car for state leaders , from which one could address the crowd.

A Mercedes 600 Landaulet pullman

The car was only built on order and was one of the first cars to be offered with signature styling , an option that was offered to the customers for the first time. The Pullman had all features namely  refrigerators , in car telephone and at times even television sets . The car also had hydraulic adjustable seats and windows that had special panels fixed to the sides in order to stop the air from messing up with the occupants' hair. The Landaulet versions were very unique. the front roof of he car was metal while the rear or second half of the roof was made of canvas that used to fold down like the roof of a convertible. One of the rarest versions of this car is the 600 Kompressor. There exists only one Kompressor that was built specifically for Jay Leno , one of the greatest automobile collectors of the era. The supercharged engine of the Kompressor was personally designed by Karl Middlehauve the chief engineer of the 600.

This car was a very clever car. Whenever the car was not used , the rear end of the car would sit down  on the ground and would wait for its air compressor to re-supply pressure to the suspension. The windows of this car stopped about two inches away from the top of the window sill so that hands won't be hurt. The car had an adjustable suspension system that could be used according to the user's wish and the trunk of the car would also close with the push of a button , a feature that is still not standard in several cars of the present day.

This magic on wheels was one car that every rich on the earth owned . Celebrities like Rowan Atkinson ,  Jeremy Clarkson to Dictators like Saddam Hussain , Robert Mugabe , Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Un own this exquisite luxury motor. Even the drug kingpin  Pablo Escobar had one .

The production of the car came to a silent stop in 1981. The production totalled to 2667 units, comprising, 2190 saloons , 304 pullmans , 124 6-door pullmans and 59 Landaulets. Though the production came to an abrupt end , it gave way for a long list of new sedans that rode on the luxury standard set up by the 600. Mercedes revived the car once again in 1997 but the true spirit of the 600 was irreplaceable. The pride , the command , the feel of a patriot , the feel of respect and the exquisite feel of luxury that the 600 provided is lauded upto this day.

We still wait for the true Merc spirit to reveal itself ........

Mercedes 600 the true Mercedes.