2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard First Drive

[cawimmer430]

2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard First Drive



Have the little people in your fiefdom started tossing M51 grenades at you? Are the swarms of big armor-piercing bullets coming toward you becoming a constant nuisance as you tour the kingdom?

Mercedes has the answer and we went to Stuttgart to have our exclusive drive thereof. It is called the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard and it is a monumental thing to behold, much less to pilot around the hilly urban area near Mercedes headquarters.

Though Rainer G?rtner, the senior manager of the Mercedes Guard division, never used the word when speaking with us, the S600 Pullman Guard is certifiably "ginormous" in a way not even approachable by the extended-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Designated the VV 221 model, this S-Class weighs 11,685 pounds and measures a tick just under 21 feet (252 inches) overall with a 14.2-foot (170.4-inch) wheelbase. Due to the massive stresses already placed on the 27.6-inch (total diameter) Michelin PAX run-flat tires with rock-hard 121Q-rated sidewalls, the Pullman Guard is limited to a top speed of just 100 mph and no acceleration numbers are given.

At the wheel or in the spacious rear cabin, the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard defines utterly unrivaled substance and total protection from the vicious world lurking just on the other side of the 2.4-inch-thick windows.


Armored Personnel Carrier

"When all has been tried," says G?rtner, "there is no substitute for steel on armored cars." Besides the obvious size and mass of the car itself, each of the four doors on this latest Pullman Guard weighs 350 pounds (the rear doors actually have an electrohydraulic aid to fully close the doors so they weigh even a bit more). Apparently owner and crew are meant to have a ground staff on hand to open and shut. Total armor work on our big tester amounts to 3,970 pounds, or the weight of a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis.

The chief benefit in buying a Pullman Guard from Mercedes ? $1.4 million base price ? is that the car is built from the ground up as a Guard car and not simply retrofitted with security measures that leave compromising chinks in the armor. For example, every possible seam in the bodywork of this monster S600 is filled by cleverly interlocking layers from the two adjoining panels. Moreover, the drivability and integrity of the original chassis is intact, while the Pullman Guard can be serviced at any Mercedes-Benz dealership and has a full factory warranty.

This Pullman Guard in a trim level called Highest Security meets several unbelievable testing criteria. It meets all VR6 and VR7 security thresholds set by NATO, versus High Security, which meets VR4 levels corresponding to a .44-magnum handgun. This certifies that the car can withstand a five-grenade sandwich maneuver, wherein three M51 hand grenades sited under the car and two placed on the roof are all set off simultaneously. As an option for world leaders living in really dicey locales, there is a 660-pound floor structure that will withstand the M61 hand grenades preferred by the U.S. Army, among others.

The polycarbonate side windows are 2.4 inches thick and feel like brick when you rap them with a knuckle. The windscreen and rear window can be less thick, since projectiles fired from ground level will meet these windows at an angle and therefore must travel through just as much material in the end. (This is a damned sight better than in olden times, when the driver's compartment was considered expendable and therefore not armored.)


Driving Fort Knox

Rather than drawing any analogies to the Maybach 62, as we were frankly ready to do, let us say instead that driving the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard is like driving a Maybach 62 to the power of two. Despite all the effort put into making this car drive as much as possible like a civilian S600, there's not even a distant chance of thinking of this mondo S as anything other than a shrapnel-deflecting monolith.

Guiding the 11,685-pound S600 PG around obstacles and over speed bumps feels just as we'd imagined it might, as the body continued to react for a while once the obstacle or bump had been conquered, as if it were experiencing aftershocks. Steering, braking and throttling all need to be done with a firm and commanding attitude, and we adapted to this need in short order. Suspension mods include reinforced strut towers all around, an additional antisway brace between the front towers and two additional steel springs in back to complement the air suspension. Pneumatics can also raise the whole car up some 1.6 inches when required.

Though we appreciated these many miles as chauffeur, the real experience to be had is in the rear stateroom of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard. Take a look at any film footage of a royal visit from the 1960s and you'll generally see kings and queens wearing fetching hats as they emerge from their limo. And so it was in 1965 that the Mercedes facility in Sindelfingen raised the roof of the legendary Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman state car to accommodate Queen Elizabeth II's chapeau during her visit to Germany that year. Since then, all stretched diplomatic cars have followed this lead (even President Obama's stretched Cadillac, despite the fact that there's no chance of him being seen with a top hat), so the S600 Pullman Guard has 2.4 inches of added headroom back there whether you wear an Easter bonnet or no.

With all the armor layered on to the passenger cell, we found it impossible to hear the 36-valve, twin-turbo, 510-horsepower 5.5-liter V12 through the reinforced four-tip exhaust system. Given also that the performance requisites of this tried-and-true power unit are here frankly very limited beyond basic stylish hauling, the transmission is also the old five-speed automatic with steering wheel paddles. Shifts are unfelt.


Everyday Options

In reality, the options list at this level of the market goes on for days. Besides the possibility of armoring the floor even more, there is an available three-extinguisher fire-fighting system, an emergency fresh-air system that seals everything off in case of a gas attack and pumps oxygen into the cabin, rear-facing seats with foldable squabs to make more room for royal legs and feet, enhanced infrared night vision, flag and pennant holders on the front fenders and the blue-light special with flashing grille lights and a detachable roof light.

Standard standouts include: the Maybach rear-seat center console with work tables and refrigerator; a 19-inch multifunction flat screen monitor that rises from behind the rear-facing seats; and the partition wall with electro-transparent glass that features liquid crystals that go opaque in an instant. There's a full-on 95-ampere backup battery, panoramic rearview camera, a newly developed curtain-type airbag, twin-caliper front brakes (as on the Maybach) and specially designed run-flat tires to handle severe blowouts due to explosions of the terrorist sort. Appointed drivers are also given a full driver's training course in which the virtues of power-sliding a 5.8-ton bulletproof limo are explored. So far, 100 percent of orders have come with the exterior specified in basic black.


Tell No One

Those who build the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard at the dedicated Guard facility in Sindelfingen never know for whom they are building. The sole contact for everyone throughout production is the dignitary's official buyer. Between 600 and 700 examples of the Guard car are built every year in S-Guard, G-Guard and E-Guard trim, although the specific number of S600 Pullman Guard units on the road is a closely held state secret at Mercedes-Benz.

Most popular markets for the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard are former Soviet states and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Fear not, though; Mercedes refuses to build things like this for hoodlums and drug lords, turning away several inquiries each year.






Link: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=152846?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..2.*#10&mktcat=enabler&AID=10364102&PID=3179980&kw=N&synpartner=edmunds&mktid=cj260233

[omicron]

That rear compartment is rather underwhelming, especially if I'm a devious head of state likely to be shot at.

[cawimmer430]

That rear compartment is rather underwhelming, especially if I'm a devious head of state likely to be shot at.

What do you want back there? Gold champagne glasses and diamond crusted leather seats? 

[Cookie Monster]

What do you want back there? Gold champagne glasses and diamond crusted leather seats? 

From that picture, it doesn't look fitting of a $1.4 million car.

[cawimmer430]

From that picture, it doesn't look fitting of a $1.4 million car.

Jesus friggin Christ.   

The price tag is because of all the friggin protection that is added, the armor materials etc. and the fact that this thing is put together by hand to ensure maximum protection.

[Cookie Monster]

Jesus friggin Christ.   

The price tag is because of all the friggin protection that is added, the armor materials etc. and the fact that this thing is put together by hand to ensure maximum protection.

I know, but would it have killed them to make the interior slightly more luxurious?

[omicron]

What do you want back there? Gold champagne glasses and diamond crusted leather seats? 

Well, yes.

[cawimmer430]

Well, yes.

You'd make a great porn producer. 

[omicron]

You'd make a great porn producer. 

I would have one hell of a mink coat.

[the Teuton]

Can you get the Maybach interior put into it?

[cawimmer430]

Can you get the Maybach interior put into it?

Probably not. The Maybach interior probably won't comply with the standards of the reworked Guard W221 S-Class interior or something along those lines...

[Colonel Cadillac]

I know some Mexicans who will probably buy the non-limousine version. Those things are ridiculous!

[AltinD]

I know some Mexicans who will probably buy the non-limousine version. Those things are ridiculous!

And I know someone who hasn't read that last sentence of the article posted, that was even highlighted in bold.

[Colonel Cadillac]

And I know someone who hasn't read that last sentence of the article posted, that was even highlighted in bold.

Haha, they're not hoodlums or gang-bangers.

[Atomic]

so this car will only be sold to the elite? trust me, it will be sold to anyone who can fork over that much dough! 'benz said something similar when the most recent maybach series (i.e. 57, 57s, 62, 62s) was first introduced. living between new york and palm beach, fl, i have seen a wide array of non-targeted maybach owners, riders and drivers... some cars very impressive, some tacky (i.e. bright yellow and pea green in color, vinal top clad models). truly! ugh.

[hypersonic]

Jesus friggin Christ.    

The price tag is because of all the friggin protection that is added, the armor materials etc. and the fact that this thing is put together by hand to ensure maximum protection.

LOL

That rear compartment is rather underwhelming, especially if I'm a devious head of state likely to be shot at.

From that picture, it doesn't look fitting of a $1.4 million car.

I think you guys are missing the point of this vehicle.  Chris is correct, the cost is due to the extensive protection.  This is not supposed to be an American-style "Prom-mobile" with multi-coloured flashing LEDs and tacky fake candelabras. This is a serious vehicle for serious diplomatic and VIP duty.  It is very conservative because it is designed for a very conservative market (governments and embassies) where discretion is valued over showiness.

[the Teuton]

Then I shall have a Maybach Protection instead!

With a leopard velour covering the ceiling, shag rugs covering the floor, and a Brabus engine, of course...

[cawimmer430]

I think you guys are missing the point of this vehicle.  Chris is correct, the cost is due to the extensive protection.  This is not supposed to be an American-style "Prom-mobile" with multi-coloured flashing LEDs and tacky fake candelabras. This is a serious vehicle for serious diplomatic and VIP duty.  It is very conservative because it is designed for a very conservative market (governments and embassies) where discretion is valued over showiness.

Yep. Exactly what I am thinking.