How The Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Became A Signature Car For Dictators

The history of automobiles isn't fascinating only because of the worst car trends and the coolest vehicle innovations over the years. Often, a ride is defined by the person behind the wheel, whether they're jaw-dropping celebrity-owned cars or forbidding government limos. In the U.S., for example, Cadillacs are often seen as the preferred rides for officials. Similar is the status for Lexus and BMW cars in certain Asian pockets.

In a few instances, this preference steers itself into the domain of infamy. The Mercedes-Benz 600, often considered an epitome of automobile luxury, is one such unfortunate case after becoming a status symbol among all kinds of bad men and revolutionaries.

Of course, for a car that incurs a bill of around $21,000 just for minor servicing, or roughly $3 million for a full restoration, the clientele must be flush. Oh, by the way, it was also the first bulletproof car built by Daimler-Benz in the post-war era, back in 1965. Each was custom-made to the styling preferences of its owner. And befitting any luxury item of its caliber, the car was almost entirely built by hand, taking nearly two months for each to take its final lavish shape.

On the BBC show "Top Gear," host Jeremy Clarkson remarked that people who owned a 600 "almost always had access to an air force." He added, "I can call in an airstrike," giving a clear hint about the powerful personalities who often took a joyride in the legendary car. 

Built with opulence in mind, the swanky limousine was the first in Mercedes' history to adopt a V-8 engine. The car had disc brakes on all four wheels, put shock absorber controls on the steering, and featured electrical heating and ventilation, two-axis seat adjustment, air suspension, and hydraulic speed-controlled windows. It was also deeply customizable, and could be kitted out with everything from a minibar to a TV. If all this hasn't spelled it out yet, well, the Mercedes-Benz 600 was once the world's most expensive car. That, alone, would make it a highly desirable object of desire for anyone with more money than they would bother to count.

Now consider that Mercedes only produced 2,677 units of the car, also known as the "Grosser" owing to its size and heft. All of it was offered to an elite clientele some six decades ago when the Mercedes‑Benz 600 made its debut at the 1963 International Motor Show in Frankfurt.

Sounds like a ride tailor-made for people of importance, or with tangible risk to their lives. That, indeed, was the case. Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, moved around in a six-door Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman. Brezhnev is often linked to the USSR's Stagnation Era, with its marked economic decline, rise in alcoholism, reduction in life expectancy, poor access to medical care, falling education standards, and rampant corruption.

The Mercedes-Benz 600, in its four- and six-door versions, has been used extensively by the political elite across the world and driven around influential figures such as Elvis Presley, David Bowie, John Lennon, Jack Nicholson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Coco Chanel. In its Landaulet variant, the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman even served as the "Popemobile" for Pope John XXIII. 

In the history of automobiles, there is barely any car that has attracted as much adoration among royalty and the elite as the Mercedes-Benz 600. From Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro to Nobel Peace Prize-winning Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat, the Mercedes 600 has frequently made waves as the most exclusive ride in the world.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, reportedly bought 17 of these extravagant cars. That would also explain the 21 Mercedes-Benz 600 models in the national car museum of Iran. Playboy Magazine mogul Hugh Hefner famously owned two of these iconic cars and proceeded to ruin them with some horrific modifications, including a third axle with two extra wheels for no apparent reason. 

The decline in the clientele's good image is equally stark. A rare Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet owned by onetime Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito went to auction in 2017, touted to be one of the only nine six-door long-roof variants ever assembled. A divisive figure, Tito is often regarded as a dictator who famously left a trail of killing dissidents, using death squads even in foreign countries.

Let's move further into the realm of dictators. Idi Amin, former Ugandan president and brutal military dictator, owned the luxurious car. The brutal leader, who used "Lord of all the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea" as an honorific among other titles, also gained infamy as the "Butcher of Uganda" over his role in the torture and death of roughly 300,000 people.

Cambodian dictator Pol Pot also had the car in his collection. Regarded as one of the most brutal despots in modern history, the Khmer Rouge movement led by Pot was responsible for the Cambodian genocide, which led to the targeted killing of between 1.6 million and 3 million people in just four years.

Leaders with a spotty humanitarian record have also expressed their historical fondness for it. Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China, is said to have owned one, and so did one of his close generals, Chen Li. Historians say 30 million to 50 million people died due to a famine triggered by his policies. 

Kim Il Sung, founder and the first supreme leader of North Korea, was so enamored by the car that he covertly had a state agent buy at least 10 Pullmans for him in Europe. Interestingly, the Mercedes 600 Pullman's spiritual successor, now hawked as the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600, is favored by King Jong Un, his grandson and the country's current dictator.