Just as Mercedes prepares to do away with one historic nameplate, it appears to be reviving another. The flagship of the next-generation S-Class range will wear the Pullman badge.
Pullman historically denoted long-wheelbase cars, most notably the famous “Grosser” 600 sedans. Mercedes head Dieter Zetsche told Autocar that the Pullman would supercede the regular long-wheelbase model in the new lineup
“We will continue in the market segment above €200,000 [£170,000],” said Zetsche. “It is important that Mercedes-Benz is represented. We have tradition at this level. We see a chance to extend our leadership at the top end of the luxury car market. We plan to extend the number of models, and a Pullman is included in those plans.”
Among the ways to differentiate the Pullman (aside from the extra-long wheelbase) will be a distinctive grille. The 600s of yesteryear had a Mercedes star emblem some 20 percent larger than other models. This should be a fair bit less subtle.
Game over, man. Game over.
Wait, that was Paxton.
outstanding
Nice night for a walk.
Wash day tomorrow, nothing clean, right? :)
We’re not just doing this for money…we’re doing it for a S***LOAD of money!
More apropos?
The newer the Vette, the wetter they get! Amirite?
I did love that episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson tried to drive a mammoth 600 Grosser around…that was a hell of a car.
It was hideous in green, but such a grand car. They thought of everything, and built it to THE highest spec they could. It trumped that old Roller James had in every way.
Clarkson: “Will you now agree that my Mercedes is better?”
James: “Well it’s got more petrol in it.”
Quoting another website’s article about der Grosser…
“the 600’s massive, imposing bodywork says nothing so much as I Am Coming to Rule Your Face, Peons, and I Will Drive Over Your Brain if You Don’t Agree.”
It’s a car that rules the road.
The best thing ever written about the 600 was by Henry Manney of R&T. Looking at the back seat of the newly introduced 600 he pronounced that “I could see a rape taking place back there. But never a seduction.”
Benzes have made great progress on being rape-worthy. Too bad they look like Korean cars now.
Part of the problem was that it was in London. A ‘standard’ 600 is actually 10 inches shorter than my ’59 Cadillac coupe. The Mercedes 215 inches long, the Cadillac is 225 inches.
A lovely car, to be sure, but I’d rather have one of those Volvo limos we discussed a few weeks ago. The Mercedes is rare, to be sure, but I think a Volvo limo has a higher “What the hell…??” factor.
The 600 Grosser was from a different era, just like the land yacht Caddys.
You can’t recapture that magic.
It will be recaptured.
Doubt it.
Back then, populations were still under some illusion that those being chauffeured in them, were great people, builders of civilization etc. Obama, Berlusconi, a gaggle of banksters, rappers and Russian mobsters just don’t lend the same aura of authority to the car they are ensconced in. And honestly, for all his cute, neither does Justin Bieber.
Take a look at the list of owners in the Mercedes-Benz 600’s wikipedia entry. Plenty of unsavory people owned those too.
I have no doubt that it will be recaptured, and maybe even built upon. This era has way more money to spend than that one ever did.
Lots of people recapture it.
But keeping a 600 running – well, let’s just say the cheapest thing you’ll do is to buy the car.
With the styling of the new S-Class, the proposed Pullman models will neither fly under the radar nor match the cachet of a comparable Bentley or Rolls-Royce product. Daimler really showed that it didn’t care about its ultrapremium brand. The Maybachs started off looking like stretched Mercedes-Benz sedans…a huge no-no…and then they were never updated, to the point that they could easily be upstaged by a 2007 S550. There’s still a shot at Maybach if they could refrain from making them look like Mercedes-Benz sedans, even if they used the same internals. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur/Flying Spur uses the same platform (and W12 engine) as the VW Phaeton, and the Rolls-Royce Ghost uses the same platform (and V12 engine) as the BMW 7-Series…but none of the owners would know that just by looking at each of them.
I don’t know Kyree – the Maybach was nearly stillborn. Hideous, even in the era of flash-my-wealth.
A major faux pas by Daimler….
The Maybach was built on the ’92 Mercedes S-Class chassis, not the newer ones. David E. Davis called that Benz the most over-engineered car in the world. It was the last MB built to a standard and not a price. My ’92 S400 cost more than a new S550 today. The newer chassises couldn’t bear the weight of the Maybach design. The simple fact is that is wasn’t properly marketed and, in truth, just didn’t look that good to me. Maybe the Pullman will prove to be the right move?
There’s an early 90s S420 for sale not far from here in a ne’er-do-well neighborhood with some kind of aftermarket wheels (not 22in rims). Partially tempted but I know all to well about 20yo German cars.
Not quite, Tybee. The Maybach was built on your cars successor, the W220 S Class that debuted in 2000 in the US. SIt in one, and you’ll see all the switchgear shared with that model. In fact, the TT V12 used in the 2003 and up S600 was the motor designed for Maybach.
I’d be interested to see exactly how Daimler has the rights to the Pullman name. The Pullman company, that made sleeper railroad cars, still exists (as an automotive supplier, interestingly enough).
I took a quick look at the trademark database and don’t see any issues. They should be good to go. The automotive company you’re thinking of is Tenneco and they don’t seem to use the Pullman name.
There are also Pullman hotels, the are doing just fine.
That’s how I remember Pullman, as a railroad sleeper, and I’m old. They did put you sleep with a swaying motion and a clickety-clack lullaby.
MB: Is This Trip Necessary?
As well as the Brotherhood of Sleeping car porters. Compared to todays air travel quite comfortable with no extra charge for an extra bag. An era when rail travel, though slower than Amtrak was still a thrill and you got to see Americana.
Having taken the train from L.A. to Boston in the 1970s, I can confirm that the Americana was romantic in the open spaces of the West. Snaking through the industrial underbelly of the Midwest and East, especially through the cities, was somewhat less romantic.
I don’t believe the 600 pullman had special badging. “Pullman” and “landaulet” stretch models were available from the factory but the styling and drivetrain identified the car and were denominated 600, not pullman. I suspect that MB will want to market owner-driveable limousines like the regular 600, more than stretchers like the original pullman, with this term. Even if Pullman has continued meaning, it isn’t the meaning of a non-stretched limited production car.
I don’t doubt that MB *could* engineer a better owner-driveable limo than VW or BMW, but that competition is stiffer than anything the 600 faced in the 1960s. And as discussed ad nauseam, MB’s current crew seems not likely to create a definitive machine like Paul Bracq, Erich Waxenberger, and everybody else at Daimler Benz 1960-1990 may have done.
Agree. I’m looking at the Model 600 Workshop Manual and MB states:
600 100.012
600 long 4-door 100.014
600 long Landaulet 100.015
600 long 6-door 100.016
No mention of “Pullman” anywhere in the manual. I’m guessing the “Presidential” Landaulet was special order and thus no need for a chassis designation. Probably just lumped it in with Landaulet.
I have the sales brochure in front of me. It only refers to the 5/6 passenger sedan and the 7 passenger limousine.
The most expensive car you will _ever_ own , is a cheap Mercedes .
-Nate
Yeah, the 600 is a nightmare. Example: Water pump overhaul cost several thousand dollars. Why? The fan clutch is actually a variable lock-up hydraulic clutch, complete with thermostatic valve modulating oil flow into the clutch chamber according to temperature. Fascinating, impressive, but insane nonetheless.
Insane engineering is the best engineering!
Well…to a guy like me, who is fascinated by machinery.
Anyone who has worked on German equipment is likely to use the phrase “German engineering” as a swear word. The only thing worse than their mechanical parts are the electronics (although in retrospec that was just ancient, not insanely overengineered).
I agree with this. The idea seems to be to make things as sadistic as possbile for anyone servicing the cars.
The days of people being wowed by limousines ended a good decade ago. MB would do better to build a mega-SUV. That is what people want now.
I’ll bet the star lights up on the hood of this Pullman…
I didn’t realize the car was already in production…
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z256/jimbob1955_2007/600%20Pullman/Mercedes-Benz-S600-Pullman-Guard-2011-1280×800-005_zps210b0818.jpg
When it was released, I said that the Maybach should have been badged as a Mercedes (and the A & B classes badged as some kind of sub-brand).
Mercedes has been pushing down-market for decades – and that’s a bad thing.
I remember when I was a kid my neighbors had a new W116 S-Class. It was a treat to get a lift to school in that. I didn’t really know what it was, but it felt special.
Now my wife and I both drive E Classes. My 9 y.o. son said something the other day that made me realize that, to him, a Mercedes is just another car.
I want to know what Rick Ross thinks about this.