1969 Mercedes Pullman Limo...

While it now quite common to see the sleek lines or the pink blur of a stretch limo on our city streets, limos were once the sole privilege of the rich, famous and flamboyant. With the advent of limo hire companies, any of us can find out how it feels to cruise the streets and fetch admiring and curious glances.

However, back in 1969, the limousine was still well and truly a luxury reserved for the elite. The Mercedes-Benz 600 limousine was created at a time when luxury cars were coming into their own.

The 600 limousines featured the distinctive Mercedes grille and body shape which have come to be recognised as markers of luxury and class. The 600 was built over a period of 18 years, but only around 2,000 were produced. The ‘stretch’ Mercedes 600 Pullman was 20.5 feet long and could seat six to eight passengers.

Almost all of the 600 range were custom built as the buyers were able to select from a list of inclusions as well as the coach builders going to enormous effort to include any special requests from the customer, if they were engineeringly possible.

The 600 series of limousines were the first cars to be powered by a V8 engine. The four speed automatic transmissions could accelerate the cars to 125-135 miles per hour.

The body of these luxury cars was pressed steel with the only aluminium part being the trunk lid. They also had self levelling high pressure air suspension systems and adjustable ride height. The shock absorbers were also adjustable to suit the individual preferences of the driver. The 600’s braking system was four-wheel disc brakes which were also power assisted.

Car and Driver Magazine is quoted as saying in 1965 that ‘The Mercedes 600 has proved to our complete satisfaction that it is the finest automobile in the world!’. This may be the reason that Hugh Hefner is said to drive a 1969 Mercedes-Benz Pullman limousine – only the best.