Actually, the windows and some other stuff are hydraulic, not pneumatic - "The 600's complex 150-bar (2,176 psi) hydraulic pressure system powered the automobile's windows, seats, sun-roof, boot lid, and automatically closing doors."
Yeah. I'd buy one back then, but the Japanese bowed into the fight and dominate what they were (safe reliable premium) and even now. Lexus passes on American merc. Even the lol Acura is better😂
Those window switches are worth more than my whole car. If I remember correctly Jay Leno said it cost him over $10k just to get the ones on his rebuilt over 20 years ago.
8:35 That "woodgrain" in the dash IS the dash, Zack. German craftsmen in Stuttgart toiled over that dash, carving it out of a whole friggin' TREE, and polished it until their hands bled. The 600 was one of the last truly hand-built luxury limousines from a mainstream carmaker. They set out to get themselves back into the ultra-lux field (after, of course, the war) and to outdo Rolls-Royce once and for all and they accomplished it.
Indeed they accomplished what they set out to do. The only car that I put in the same category is the 1957-58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham series 70. Both have self leveling suspension systems. They share similar features in suspension, power windows, power trunk, etc. the Cadillac had the first memory seats. They are both incredible, both set out to beat RR and had success doing so. But, they did it in different ways
A 4 speed auto transmission in 1969 was state of the art technology considering most cars were still manuals and automatic transmissions were 3 speeds.
Not exactly. The first-ever automatic transmission, GM's Hydramatic, was also a 4-speed - and that was invented in 1939. The reason so many transmissions in the 1950s through the 1970s had moved down to 2 or 3 speeds was because they were connected to the engine via torque converter, in the same way most current automatics are - allowing them to forgo a very low first gear for launching. The Mercedes 4-speed here, however, uses a regular hydraulic coupling with no stator and a 1:1 torque ratio - just as the Hydramatic did. In this sense, this transmission was actually an older approach.
This is from a time, when german cars were built by engineers, in grey suits with no humor at all. The best or nothing, no discussion about that. Built like a vault. This lastet until the W126, maybe the W140. Then the finance department took over, an later on marketing. And that's where we endet up today. Silly stuff like ambient lights and 55 inch monitors in the dashboard, but cheap crap underneath. That's why everybody should drive their old cars from the 90s and earlier as long as possible, it won't get any better. Lexus LS 400, Porsche 944/968, Mercedes W124/126, BMW E30/34, Mazda 626, Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord ... cars built to last forever (with a little love and maintenance :))
I'd like to mention this was the most expensive car IN THE WORLD when it was introduced in 1963. You've reviewed what looks like one of the "lesser" cars with the short wheelbase and without the champagne fridge in the middle. These were hand-built in very small batches--about 150 a year. The wait-list was very long, which was partially why Merc kept them in production until 1981 (WELL after Mercedes moved on from their quad-headlight design language [yes, I know they weren't quad headlight-ed in Europe]). Every second-and-third-world dictator had one of these. Brezhnev, Mao, Tito, Pol Pot, etc. etc. Elvis had one, John Lennon had one, David Bowie had one (infamously during his "I'm-not-fascist-but-I-am" phase) and dozens of old time Hollywood stars. This is the closest anybody got, apart from Rolls-Royce, to a true ultra-luxury four door post-WWII. The only other non-Rolls that could maybe compare with this would be the Toyota Century... which was also quite posh and exclusive, but wasn't quite as hand-built with quite so much hand-carved real wood. And as you say, luxury has shifted since then into something more laughabl--I mean... "low brow."
First memory of a Mercedes 600 was watching Falcon Crest with mom and you immediately knew that the show's villain was Jane Wyman when she appeared sitting in the back seat of that car in the opening credits.
Cadillac or Lincoln never made anything close to this perfection of a high end luxury car. (Maybe except for the 57-58 Broughham or the MkII Continental) But it was made for the really rich people only!
I remember years ago; a friend of mine had a 1969 Mercedes (I don't know it it was a 600 though), it was a standard & the gear shift shaft was as big around as the radio antenna. He always called the power windows 'the inverted guillotines'.
Some constructive criticism Zack, I wish we could see more of your POV shots, it really puts us in the drivers seat. Maybe even as separate videos from the reviews?
Congratulations Zack, you're driving one of my all-time dream cars. I'd take one in dark green. Mercedes-Benz gave their engineers a blank check and told them to build the best car they could. These things are incredibly overengineered and have presence like few others. It's a shame this one doesn't have the Euro headlights. You should have reenacted Jeremy Clarkson testing out the horns. Slight correction, the windows are hydraulic along with the seat controls. The window up speed is variable depending on how far you push the switch. Rumor was that it could take off an arm, a useful feature for a dictator. The trunk must be closed using the hydraulics or else the hinges will bend.
Rose tinted glasses! My father bought new a 600 in 1965-67 (not exactly sure). It was wonderful to begin with but then became more and more unreliable. He replaced it with a RR Silver Shadow but thankfully kept my mum kept her 300 SEL 6.3, which I could borrow as my first car, youth, testosterone, and horsepower are a bad mix - but all good!
same year model 300 SE now thats a stunning car....do whatever it takes....to get behind the wheel of one....thank me later ...the last truly coach built mercedes interior.....the wood accents are sooo beautiful
Finally a pristine clean car. I don't understand why people is not capable of give it a quick clean before borrowing you their cars. At least to dust off the carpets.
Such a majestic vehicle! Once you drive it, you'd probably feel like a bloody Dictator owning the Country, looking down on the pedestrians and other drivers, as peasants or unprivileged subjects! great review, Zack.
We have an old Mercedes similar to this at the shop. It has the same size V8 but the car itself is a lot smaller and its currently sagging becuase the air compressor has an issue I think. Its currently parked gathering dust and leaves cause the fuel injection pump is put getting rebuilt. However its been out getting rebuilt since like January I think.
That car was around $30,000 new and originally advertised as the most expensive car in the world at the time. All the power accessories and the suspension are hydraulic not pneumatic. These were automobiles for heads of state. Mercedes sparred no expense to build them.
Mercedes did beat RR with this cars. It introduced many firsts such as radio telephone, etc. it's very old school, upright and amazing. The only car that is its peer is the Cadillac Eldorado brougham series 70 from 1957-58. It also beat RR a few years before this. That car was the first to feature quad headlights, auto dim headlights and memory seats. It also had a stainless steel roof. Both cars shared self leveling suspensions. The cadillac did so by air, Mercedes hydraulic. The cadillac in contrast is simpler and sleeker, more futuristic. If one had to seperate why the mercedes is better its because it offers a long wheelbase pullman version and cabriolet known as the landaulet.
Those all sound right. I also couldn’t really figure out K. L. The German word for coolant is Kühlmittel, but no idea on the L. The temp gauge says ºC W. at the bottom, which pretty clearly identifies it as a temp gauge (probably W=Wasser=water), but the numbers are in ºF. Looks like they painted different numbers on it for the US market, but didn’t change the ºC marking to ºF.
The one in the video was marked C but had numbers in F. Maybe earlier production, or maybe (more likely) a one-off mistake where they put an F gauge into a C bezel.
best car ever made, at least post-war. this one seems to be sitting a little high...too much rear camber in those swing arms. some grossers had a chiller in the armrest. too bad the trunk closer wasn't working...it literally is a guillotine
This Is most certainly a beautiful car I love that color old Mercedes are cool and amazing new Is just garbage I have a horror story on a 2011 I bough and my god it was fucking terrible but great review!
Just to echo the comment below. The windows, front and rear seats, sunroof, and trunk are all HYDRAULICALLY operated, not pneumatically. When you make a serious error like that in your info it's an instant credibility destroyer. Just saying it's enough for me not to bother subscribing.
Actually, the windows and some other stuff are hydraulic, not pneumatic - "The 600's complex 150-bar (2,176 psi) hydraulic pressure system powered the automobile's windows, seats, sun-roof, boot lid, and automatically closing doors."
1969: Classy elegant designs, high quality materials
2024: Screens screens & big front grilles 🗿
Yeah. I'd buy one back then, but the Japanese bowed into the fight and dominate what they were (safe reliable premium) and even now. Lexus passes on American merc. Even the lol Acura is better😂
So you think the grill on the old one is tiny?
Those window switches are worth more than my whole car. If I remember correctly Jay Leno said it cost him over $10k just to get the ones on his rebuilt over 20 years ago.
8:35 That "woodgrain" in the dash IS the dash, Zack. German craftsmen in Stuttgart toiled over that dash, carving it out of a whole friggin' TREE, and polished it until their hands bled. The 600 was one of the last truly hand-built luxury limousines from a mainstream carmaker. They set out to get themselves back into the ultra-lux field (after, of course, the war) and to outdo Rolls-Royce once and for all and they accomplished it.
Indeed they accomplished what they set out to do. The only car that I put in the same category is the 1957-58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham series 70. Both have self leveling suspension systems. They share similar features in suspension, power windows, power trunk, etc. the Cadillac had the first memory seats. They are both incredible, both set out to beat RR and had success doing so. But, they did it in different ways
Dang, what a gem that 600 is! It looks amazing!
A 4 speed auto transmission in 1969 was state of the art technology considering most cars were still manuals and automatic transmissions were 3 speeds.
Not exactly. The first-ever automatic transmission, GM's Hydramatic, was also a 4-speed - and that was invented in 1939. The reason so many transmissions in the 1950s through the 1970s had moved down to 2 or 3 speeds was because they were connected to the engine via torque converter, in the same way most current automatics are - allowing them to forgo a very low first gear for launching.
The Mercedes 4-speed here, however, uses a regular hydraulic coupling with no stator and a 1:1 torque ratio - just as the Hydramatic did. In this sense, this transmission was actually an older approach.
I actually have a 1964 Mercedes 220 SE (4 speed manual) its fuel injection.
this car isn't old money, it's dictator
The W100 and W198 are truly the best examples of "The best or nothing"
Wow, wow, wow.. No words can describe how stunning this automobile is....
300 and town and country via cerberus fiat refresh have oddily familiar vibes in the rpm and speed Guage cluster
@@trumpet12345can u elaborate I don’t understand
Duuuude. You have driven a SEVERE bucket list car!
You could run a Soviet satellite state from the backseat of this thing.
Uh. 😮 hmm. War stuff 😢
And a handful of clients likely did 😂
And the white walls... Chefs kiss💋
Congrats to be in the position to review the GOAT Mercedes, if I ever see one I’ll faint
Beautiful car. One silly thing with it though, head rest in the back seat, but not the front. So weird.
This is from a time, when german cars were built by engineers, in grey suits with no humor at all. The best or nothing, no discussion about that. Built like a vault. This lastet until the W126, maybe the W140. Then the finance department took over, an later on marketing. And that's where we endet up today. Silly stuff like ambient lights and 55 inch monitors in the dashboard, but cheap crap underneath. That's why everybody should drive their old cars from the 90s and earlier as long as possible, it won't get any better. Lexus LS 400, Porsche 944/968, Mercedes W124/126, BMW E30/34, Mazda 626, Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord ... cars built to last forever (with a little love and maintenance :))
You don't drive this car, you are driven in it. lol
Indeed, this is a chauffeur’s car
I'd like to mention this was the most expensive car IN THE WORLD when it was introduced in 1963. You've reviewed what looks like one of the "lesser" cars with the short wheelbase and without the champagne fridge in the middle. These were hand-built in very small batches--about 150 a year. The wait-list was very long, which was partially why Merc kept them in production until 1981 (WELL after Mercedes moved on from their quad-headlight design language [yes, I know they weren't quad headlight-ed in Europe]).
Every second-and-third-world dictator had one of these. Brezhnev, Mao, Tito, Pol Pot, etc. etc. Elvis had one, John Lennon had one, David Bowie had one (infamously during his "I'm-not-fascist-but-I-am" phase) and dozens of old time Hollywood stars. This is the closest anybody got, apart from Rolls-Royce, to a true ultra-luxury four door post-WWII. The only other non-Rolls that could maybe compare with this would be the Toyota Century... which was also quite posh and exclusive, but wasn't quite as hand-built with quite so much hand-carved real wood.
And as you say, luxury has shifted since then into something more laughabl--I mean... "low brow."
And nowadays, German “luxury” is sadly dead. Probably forever.
First memory of a Mercedes 600 was watching Falcon Crest with mom and you immediately knew that the show's villain was Jane Wyman when she appeared sitting in the back seat of that car in the opening credits.
Cadillac or Lincoln never made anything close to this perfection of a high end luxury car. (Maybe except for the 57-58 Broughham or the MkII Continental)
But it was made for the really rich people only!
Rich people to be chauffeured in, heads of states, etcetera.
I remember years ago; a friend of mine had a 1969 Mercedes (I don't know it it was a 600 though), it was a standard & the gear shift shaft was as big around as the radio antenna. He always called the power windows 'the inverted guillotines'.
You've never watched Jeremy Clarkson cover this car then man. Car of the dictator.
This is the kind of car that I’d love to drive as part of an ownership club but certainly never a car that I’d want to own due to repairs 🤷♂️
Beautiful. Ahead to its time. 💯
Great review of the Mercedes-Benz 600, Zack!
Been waiting for this one for some time and it's well worth the wait.^^
Fun fact: The premier of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito owned a couple of 600 Pullman's both in sedan/limo and convertible configurations.
The dictator Idi Amin owned several 600's.
Love the old Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson review on this car. The 600 Grosser!
Jeremy actually bought that car from the BBC and still owns it.
@@Foxonian Clarkson always has words of wisdom.
Hammond!
Beats any Cadillac, even President-spec.
Only the best for the dictators lol
@@alexhernandez2367 so West German presidents/kanzlers have been dictators too?
Some constructive criticism Zack, I wish we could see more of your POV shots, it really puts us in the drivers seat. Maybe even as separate videos from the reviews?
Museum quality...
Business meetings? Is that what we call arming Juntas now? That's the type of person this car is for.
They were more reliable back then because they didn't have all the high tech that new cars have
Wonderful classic Benz. Good review. 👍
Congratulations Zack, you're driving one of my all-time dream cars. I'd take one in dark green. Mercedes-Benz gave their engineers a blank check and told them to build the best car they could. These things are incredibly overengineered and have presence like few others. It's a shame this one doesn't have the Euro headlights. You should have reenacted Jeremy Clarkson testing out the horns.
Slight correction, the windows are hydraulic along with the seat controls. The window up speed is variable depending on how far you push the switch. Rumor was that it could take off an arm, a useful feature for a dictator. The trunk must be closed using the hydraulics or else the hinges will bend.
Rose tinted glasses! My father bought new a 600 in 1965-67 (not exactly sure). It was wonderful to begin with but then became more and more unreliable. He replaced it with a RR Silver Shadow but thankfully kept my mum kept her 300 SEL 6.3, which I could borrow as my first car, youth, testosterone, and horsepower are a bad mix - but all good!
That is THE Mercedes
same year model 300 SE now thats a stunning car....do whatever it takes....to get behind the wheel of one....thank me later ...the last truly coach built mercedes interior.....the wood accents are sooo beautiful
Here’s my 1964 Mercedes 220 SE
ua-cam.com/video/KYnZhRbzU4Q/v-deo.htmlsi=OYd8N3LH2Z5lZQcH
Great car. These were favored by dictators in the 1970s. Typo in the title - it's Grosser.
Finally a pristine clean car. I don't understand why people is not capable of give it a quick clean before borrowing you their cars. At least to dust off the carpets.
6:51 The 540K and the 300SL vould like to have a vord mit you, Herr Pradel!!
It would look even better with euro-spec headlights and without side markers 😊
4:23 Ah, interesting. That one wasn't outfitted with the champagne refrigerator in the middle!
The must have for every king or dictator in the 1970s. What a beautiful vehicle!
Definitely agree with the best Benz ever. Great video, not something you see everyday.
The Trunk is big enough to hide a nuclear Weapons Programm. Very usefull for the Clientele this Car was made for.
This is one of the BEST VEHICLE I've reviewed. 🙏❤️💪
Such a majestic vehicle! Once you drive it, you'd probably feel like a bloody Dictator owning the Country, looking down on the pedestrians and other drivers, as peasants or unprivileged subjects! great review, Zack.
my favourite mercedes.
The Height of Elegance, for sure!!
We have an old Mercedes similar to this at the shop. It has the same size V8 but the car itself is a lot smaller and its currently sagging becuase the air compressor has an issue I think. Its currently parked gathering dust and leaves cause the fuel injection pump is put getting rebuilt. However its been out getting rebuilt since like January I think.
This thing is beautiful
very nice, but I would prefer the W126 560 SEL, I love the 80s look ;-)
Luxurious. Lavish. Whew.
That car was around $30,000 new and originally advertised as the most expensive car in the world at the time. All the power accessories and the suspension are hydraulic not pneumatic. These were automobiles for heads of state. Mercedes sparred no expense to build them.
Look at him, living out his Chairman Margaret Clarkson fantasy.
If I won the lottery.. I'd buy this car. (Also hire a chauffeur to drive me around.)
The Video is a 10 out of 10
That one is killer.
Column shifter is the best
Pls do toyota cressida review🙏
Talk about presence. You don't have to know anything about cars but once you see something like this pull up everyone means business.
Ohhh yes please just stunning
Mercedes did beat RR with this cars. It introduced many firsts such as radio telephone, etc. it's very old school, upright and amazing. The only car that is its peer is the Cadillac Eldorado brougham series 70 from 1957-58. It also beat RR a few years before this. That car was the first to feature quad headlights, auto dim headlights and memory seats. It also had a stainless steel roof. Both cars shared self leveling suspensions. The cadillac did so by air, Mercedes hydraulic. The cadillac in contrast is simpler and sleeker, more futuristic. If one had to seperate why the mercedes is better its because it offers a long wheelbase pullman version and cabriolet known as the landaulet.
So sick!
Its the warren buffett of cars
What a score, 600 Mercedes
Cool car
niveau - level , bremse - brake, oel - oil pressure K.L. not sure but looks like water temp in Centigrade
Those all sound right. I also couldn’t really figure out K. L. The German word for coolant is Kühlmittel, but no idea on the L. The temp gauge says ºC W. at the bottom, which pretty clearly identifies it as a temp gauge (probably W=Wasser=water), but the numbers are in ºF. Looks like they painted different numbers on it for the US market, but didn’t change the ºC marking to ºF.
@@kc9scott I confirmed a us market 600 had °F W
The one in the video was marked C but had numbers in F. Maybe earlier production, or maybe (more likely) a one-off mistake where they put an F gauge into a C bezel.
rolls-royce calls these city horns and country horns so they don't reverb.
best car ever made, at least post-war. this one seems to be sitting a little high...too much rear camber in those swing arms. some grossers had a chiller in the armrest. too bad the trunk closer wasn't working...it literally is a guillotine
Back when Mercedes was king of the road, Mercedes was the best of the best. Built for dictators and dignitaries
This Is most certainly a beautiful car I love that color old Mercedes are cool and amazing new Is just garbage I have a horror story on a 2011 I bough and my god it was fucking terrible but great review!
Just to echo the comment below. The windows, front and rear seats, sunroof, and trunk are all HYDRAULICALLY operated, not pneumatically.
When you make a serious error like that in your info it's an instant credibility destroyer. Just saying it's enough for me not to bother subscribing.
This car sits TOO high.
The reviewer looks like an overweight college kid- not very knowledgeable. 😂