The Mercedes Benz Grosser, I Iove and know this car well.
My Father and his 2 business partners each had one of these as their daily drivers when I was a kid. I have been fascinated by this car ever since. It was quite the sight to see all 3 parked together at the house or their office in Chippendale.
I recall attending the Royal Easter show as a Kid and while queuing on South Dowling street to park, a security guard opened a gate and ushered us in to park thinking we were important. The 600 really does have that kind of presence. There is a book about the car and its history as it had an eclectic owner base, from most of the worlds evil dictators (my dad Included) to musicians and film stars.
The car was a Hydraulic and Pneumatic engineering marvel and nightmare. Every time I mentioned a desire to own a 600 to my dad, he would remind me of the repair costs.
Even so, I still tried to buy one some time back. It previously belonged to one of my dad's partners, who fell on hard times and used it as security for a small loan. The car was parked up in a Balmain back yard deteriorating. The fellow who had the car (security for the loan) was no longer friendly with my dad but dad made the introduction for me to buy the car anyway. After I made the purchase inquiry, the guy put the 600 on ebay as a nice FU gesture to us.
This is what the car looked like at the time. It got about 25k on ebay in 2008 IIRC.
It is worth noting the M100 engine has mechanical injection and in 2008 the MB list price for the fuel injection pump was something ridiculous like 30K :open_mouth:
And yes, foolishly I still lust after this car and would own one tomorrow finances permitting.
I will dig through the photo albums and look for some photos of our Dads car.
My Dad finally parted ways with the 600 for an RR Corniche hardtop. What is funny about this is Top gear did a special between Jeremy Clarkson in his MB 600 and James May in his RR Park Ward. This special is about as close as I will get to owning either. I blame both the 600 and the Corniche for my unhealthy attraction to large luxo barges i cant afford.
Sorry for my rant, Im clearly still not over the sale of the 600. Cool memories though!