Anybody who thinks they’re driving probably the most unique of all Mercedes S-Courses in a Maybach is floating on rose-colored clouds and is mistaken. For over six a long time, the automotive benchmark—with or with out the star—has been the Pullman model. Within the present W223 sequence, the automotive climax is just unavailable. That is motive sufficient to take a reflective look again within the gently curved aspect mirror.
When one hears the title “Pullman,” luxurious practice carriages come to thoughts, full with sleeping compartments, plush curtains, cozy pillows, and maybe a Mercedes 600 from the W100 sequence. That always black luxurious mannequin was rather more than a very noble limousine within the prime league. Within the late Fifties, Mercedes sought a state limousine for max illustration alongside the usual S-Class, which at the moment didn’t even carry that designation. After three particular builds of the Sort 300 in 1960, the 600 was formally launched three years later, beginning manufacturing in 1964, and by early 1965, two armoured luxurious variations had entered the fleet of the federal authorities. From 1965 till the early Nineties, the Federal Republic of Germany provided its state friends solely the perfect of the perfect—the legendary Mercedes 600 Pullman from the W100 sequence. “For a very long time, the 600 was thought of the perfect automobile on the planet,” mirrored Peter Schellhammer years in the past, who was chargeable for the 600 at Mercedes for many years. “A complete of two,677 fashions of the 600 have been produced. Of these, 428 have been delivered as Pullmans and 59 as Landaulets.” The event of the 600, led by Dr. Ing. Fritz Nallinger, lasted from 1956 to 1963, with the objective of constructing a “massive journey and illustration car” that may merely develop into the perfect automobile of all time.
Distinctive amongst them have been the 2 state limousines of the German federal authorities. Black and closely armoured, they nonetheless stand as a testomony to an rising and much from ostentatious Federal Republic. The 600 match the Federal Republic as completely as Villa Hammerschmidt, Bonn because the capital and the 4 occupying powers. The driving force of that point, Wolfgang Wöstendieck, and his Mercedes 600 Pullman with the trendy license plate S – VC 600 have been as carefully related to many state friends as Helmut Schmidt, Willy Brandt, or Hans-Dietrich Genscher. For despite the fact that political currents over time exchanged folks and officers, Wöstendieck and his black 600 have been at all times prepared for protected transport throughout almost each go to. Normally, the route was from Cologne-Bonn Airport to Bonn, the villa and consulate district of Unhealthy Godesberg, or to the guesthouse on the Petersberg. Wolfgang Wöstendieck drove these routes numerous occasions throughout his 116 state visits, understanding Bonn’s neighbourhoods and the winding method to the Petersberg in addition to his personal 4 partitions. The journey typically moved at a gradual tempo, because the escort, protocol, and the 4.5 tons of empty weight positioned a agency corset on any want for velocity. Particular tires and the heavy armour of the 2 state limousines meant that the already spectacular limousine driving efficiency of the early Sixties turned a secondary concern within the armoured model.
For many years, there have been additional Pullman variations primarily based on the 100 sequence, such because the traditional W126, the utmost W140, or the extra understated successor W220. Every primarily based on the respective Mercedes S-Class in XXL format for max luxurious and equally grand public presentation of their occupants—typically as armored variations. Arriving in a Pullman signifies a want to showcase that one is faraway from the extraordinary world—often not simply by way of automotive luxurious. Presently, there isn’t any Pullman model of the newest Mercedes S-Class (W223), making the earlier era W222, particularly the Maybach S 650 Pullman, the final to thrill its occupants with most luxurious, gigantic dimensions, tender Nappa inside, and a gently purring V12 engine. As at all times with the Pullman, the shopper has full freedom in how their dream automobile ought to be introduced. Whether or not the inside is upholstered in Nappa or semi-aniline leather-based in colors like Amaretto, Porcelain, Silk Beige, Corteccia, or Mahogany is set in private discussions on the Heart of Excellence in Sindelfingen or immediately with the shopper, together with the selection of harmonious woods or the color of the discreet partition window.
Walnut, piano lacquer, open-pore ash, or maybe high-gloss for the pampered eye? The boundaries of what’s attainable are fluid and blur someplace close to the technical horizon and away from any tariffs. What can’t be sourced from the completely designed drawers of Sindelfingen crammed with materials and color samples is just created by hand as a bespoke piece. If a buyer brings their very own color samples, needs household crests built-in into leather-based, lacquer, or wooden, or wishes a multi-tone end, their needs past the five hundred,000-euro mark are gladly accommodated.
There has by no means been a Pullman off the shelf, and the Mercedes Maybach S 650 Pullman of the W222 era isn’t any exception. At 6.52 meters lengthy, it presents ample house to make each uncommon want an automotive actuality. It’s understood that such a luxurious mannequin requires a number of months of planning and handcrafting, in keeping with what one expects from related luxurious fashions from Bentley or Rolls-Royce. The three tons of empty weight of this tremendous S-Class are felt extra by the chauffeur strolling within the footsteps of Wolfgang Wöstendieck via the substantial wheelbase of 4.42 meters than by the charged V12 turbo with six litres of displacement, 453 kW / 630 hp, and 1,000 Nm of most torque, which purrs as quietly as a contemporary electrical mannequin whereas offering the same thrust when desired. On the buyer’s request, this leviathan can attain speeds of 210 km/h, and even at most freeway speeds, occupants on this rolling one-room residence hardly discover something because of a cornucopia of soundproofing materials. That the seats could be climate-controlled and adjusted electrically right into a mendacity space is self-evident, as are the rear doorways that may be operated on the push of a button, which in on a regular basis life are often opened by the employees after one has loved a therapeutic massage and rested one’s head on tender leather-based cushions. If desired, the Pullman rear may even accommodate 4 folks, as two leather-covered emergency seats slide out in reverse instructions on the push of a button—sometimes used for protocol employees or safety personnel.
Anybody wanting on the black physique of the unique 100 sequence subsequent door with its magnificent chrome components sees, regardless of all of the aerodynamics, altered proportions, and the unusually gentle paint of the W222, many similarities. The best of those is the magnificence, which is emphasised not solely by the seemingly infinite size. The 600 Pullman of yesteryear was not for everybody—irrespective of how rich they might have been. Significantly standard have been these lengthy variations out there with 4 and 6 doorways. Distinguished friends didn’t benefit from the visible safety of tinted home windows as they do right this moment; as a substitute, they shielded themselves from prying eyes with grey curtains. At this time, these curtains rise and fall on the push of a button in seconds. However again then, the sight safety typically remained neatly folded, permitting enjoyment of views from each side of the glass. To current themselves notably advantageously to photographers and curious onlookers, not solely the 2 state limousines have been outfitted with orange lights within the ceiling that emitted a very hot glow. At this time, that is taken care of—if desired—by ambient lighting or a trusted make-up artist.
At market launch in 1964, entry into the world of the wealthy and delightful value not less than 56,000 Deutsche Marks; the lengthy model began at a minimal of 63,500 Marks. Even again then, particular requests resembling armrests, radios, report gamers, humidors, or an electrical razor within the centre console considerably elevated the value, whereas the price of an unarmored Maybach S 650 Pullman of the present era begins at over 700,000 euros, with no ceiling in sight. Again then as now, it’s good that the roof has been raised by a couple of centimetres.
