The Mercedes-Benz W100 600 Grosser is massive. Truly, apocalyptically massive. Once the most expensive car in the world, it’s almost 21ft long, weighs a shade over four tonnes, and is powered by a 6.3-litre V8 so vast it could anchor a cruise ship. Such was its scale that the little bonnet star that sits on top of the radiator surround had to be scaled up by 20 per cent so it was proportionally correct.
But one of the biggest things about the Grosser (German for, simply, “Big”) was its roster of uncompromisingly psychopathic and/or profoundly evil owners. Leonid Brezhnev, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Idi Amin Dada, Enver Hoxha, Saddam Hussein, Papa Doc Duvalier, Chairman Mao, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Ferdinand Marcos all had their names on a Grosser’s V5. And if that's not evidence enough, Jeremy Clarkson bought one, too.
So what is it about this car that makes it so beloved of the dictator class? Well, alongside their sheer size and the fiscal incontinence required to buy one, the Grosser is almost tailor-made for the endeavours of extremely bad people. Here's why.
The windows can chop your arm off
Back in the Sixties, the luxuriousness of your car’s accessories was measured by the speed and noise at which they operated. The faster and quieter, the better. So instead of powering the adjustable seats, windows, sunroof and boot lid with whirring, slow electric motors, Mercedes created an engine-driven hydraulic system that powered everything silently – an endeavour so complicated and costly that no other manufacturer had applied it on this scale to a passenger car before.
It also allowed you to change the speed you raise your windows. Press the switch lightly and the glass creeps up slowly, adding to the sense of menace after you’ve scolded a minion. But the system operates at a nominal 3200 psi (the same pressure as an industrial pressure washer), so if you press the switch harder it shoots up with enough force to remove a limb. What better way to discipline an insubordinate on the fly?
It’s bullet-proof
During its production run, which stretched from 1963 to 1981, Mercedes only built 2,677 600s. Of those, 41 were armoured from the factory. But the remaining 2636 were hardly flimsy. The chassis alone is made of such thick steel that you can jack up the front wheel and the rear raises off the ground. Plenty enough to survive a limpet mine.
