In 1961 Mercedes built the 600 to be the world's ultimate
saloon car, a luxurious Rolls Royce type car that had
no regard to cost or compromise. It offered affluent members
of society a 320 cm wheelbase and 5.5 metre four door
saloon.
The Pullman model boasted a 389 cm wheelbase and was available
with the option of six doors, extra occasional seats with
a glass partition between the back and front seating areas.
Both of these cars used a 6.3 liter V8 motor that produced
300 bhp with a four speed auto transmission. Its comfortable
ride was helped by its independent suspension that used
air bags on all wheels and was powered by a pump that
was under the bonnet.
Central hydraulics linked seating adjustment, steering
and door locks. Even though both models were extraordinarily
weighted, performance did not seem to be affected with
it topping 193 km/h and reaching 0 -96 km/h in a little
over 10 seconds.
But its downside would have to have been its fuel consumption.
Both versions handled surprisingly well with excellent
power steering and big four wheel disc brakes that were
state of the art.
These cars were enormously pricey and were hand constructed
in very small numbers. They stayed in production until
1981 and only the release of the Maybach can match this
mighty car.
Its most noteable appearance in a movie was in 1972's
'The Exorcist'.