Germany · Press presentation 28 August 1963 · Frankfurt premiere September 1963 · production 1963/1964–1981

Mercedes-Benz 600 Saloon

A giant hand-built saloon used air to carry its weight and hydraulics to move almost everything inside.

Luxury engineering pioneers

1967 W 100 600 in a museum; appears to be the four-door short-wheelbase saloon but exact type 100.012 must be confirmed visually

Exterior · Photo shows 1967 W 100 600 in a museum; appears to be the four-door short-wheelbase saloon but exact type 100.012 must be confirmed visually. exact-model-lead
Mercedes-Benz_Limousine_(1967)_pic1.JPG · AlfvanBeem · CC0

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A place in vehicle history

More than a set of wheels.

Mercedes-Benz presented the new 600 to invited journalists on 28 August 1963 and premiered it publicly at Frankfurt the following month. The W 100 revived the idea of a top-rank representative Mercedes without merely replacing an existing model. This profile isolates the four-door type 100.012 saloon on the 3,200 mm wheelbase—the shorter of the two standard chassis—even though many famous photographs show the much longer Pullman.

Look a little closer.

Mercedes-Benz recorded 2,190 short-wheelbase saloons—far more than all Pullman and landaulet versions combined.

Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.

Two pressure systems, two different jobs

Air springs supported and levelled the heavy body, while a separate hydraulic network powered comfort functions such as seat adjustment, windows, doors and the boot lid. Keeping these jobs separate let the chassis stay level while the cabin mechanisms moved quietly and forcefully.

Source: Mercedes-Benz Media · 600 sixtieth-anniversary technical history ↗

Short wheelbase did not mean small

At 3,200 mm between the axles, the standard saloon was 700 mm shorter in wheelbase than a Pullman but still a full-scale prestige car. Mercedes-Benz built 2,190 type 100.012 saloons; the remaining 487 cars in the 2,677-car total were long-wheelbase Pullman saloons and landaulets combined.

Source: Mercedes-Benz Public Archive · 600 and 600 Pullman model history ↗

Where these facts come from

Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed 2026-10-01.

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