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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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© Collecting Cars
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From me to you
There must be something in the air. First we learn that a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL once owned by U2 frontman Bono is for sale, then it’s revealed that two Aston Martins, one delivered new to Queen’s Roger Taylor the other once in the collection of Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay, are going under the hammer.
And now there’s this majestic 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600 which counts The Beatles’ George Harrison as a former owner.
It is currently being offered for sale with Collecting Cars in an online auction that runs until Tuesday 27 July 2021 at 7:05pm. Let’s find out more.
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All mod cons
There is nothing quite like the Mercedes-Benz W100 600. Produced from 1963 right up to 1981, it was the three-pointed star’s flagship model, a high-tech tour de force built to impress, impose and waft those lucky (or rich, or powerful) enough to be in it from A to B in unparalleled comfort.
Famously, that technology included shock absorbers that could be adjusted from the steering column, powered brakes, and hydraulics that operated the horizontal and vertical adjustment of the front seats, the adjustment of the rear seats, the opening and closing of the car’s doors, the bootlid, the windows and the optional sliding sunroof. All of which – today as in period – is fiercely expensive to maintain.
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Power not for the people
The kit doesn’t stop there. The 600 is powered by Mercedes’ first fuel-injected V8, the 6332cc, single-overhead-cam, M100 engine producing 247bhp, which is mated to a four-speed automatic gearbox.
That helps the short-wheelbase model complete the 0-62mph sprint in 9.7 secs – not that sprinting is really becoming of such a model.
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Long story
Indeed, this is one of 2190 short-wheelbase W100 600s to roll out the factory between September 1964 and June 1981.
That wheelbase is 3200mm, while the model’s overall length is 5540mm, it’s 1950mm wide and stands 1485mm high – and weighs 2475kg.
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The business end
How many of these cars were driven by their owners and how many were chauffeur-driven we don’t know, but the best seats were reserved for those in the back, the front compartment offering less legroom for starters.
But it’s not badly appointed, lashings of wood and leather throughout and, of course, the view of that three-pointed star down the long bonnet.
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Plate in place
The Mercedes-Benz for sale here, OLA 600E, is now back on its original – and rather appropriate – registration plate.
It is being sold via Collecting Cars by Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, an entrepreneur and businessman, who is scaling down his classic car collection.
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Hello, goodbye
“I’ve put a lot of heart into this car, but I’ve always known that I would need to let it go, even if I’ve grown attached to it,” says Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia.
“It’s always been part of my personal plan, but it’s still an emotional process. And it doesn’t make parting with the 600 any easier. On reflection, I feel I’m simply the custodian of an important piece of rock and roll history.”
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Star appeal
OLA 600E was first used as a demonstrator by Mercedes-Benz GB – we can only imagine what celebrities and captains of industry sampled its comfort and effortless power.
It was subsequently owned by George Harrison, lead guitarist of The Beatles. According to vendor Collecting Cars, ‘numerous period photos online show Harrison with this very car’.
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Join the high-mile club
We are pleased to learn that this magnificent Mercedes has been enjoyed.
At its most recent MoT, two years ago on 10 July 2019, the odometer reading was 99,488 miles, and it is now said to be 99,822. But then, Mercedes are known to be able to handle high miles, with the correct maintenance.
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Don’t let me down
Ah yes, maintenance. As we said, this can be notoriously pricey where classic Mercedes are concerned, W100 600s especially so, thanks to their hydraulics and pneumatic, adjustable, self-levelling air suspension.
The good news is that, for now at least, the work has been done on this classic, thanks to its current custodian who invested £45,000 overhauling it with marque specialist John Haynes as recently as March 2021.
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Sit back and relax
All of which should mean that for now you can recline in this classic limo’s spacious rear, on black-leather-upholstered seats that it is thought have never been retrimmed.
You could quite literally be sitting exactly where a member of The Beatles did, which is not something most of us can say every day.
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Sparkle and shine
Collecting Cars also explains that all this Mercedes’ brightwork was rechromed in a six-month process by its current owner.
You might have to keep up with the polishing, though, to ensure it retains its sparkle.
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Specialist subject
The recent work by West Sussex specialist John Haynes can, however, surely be relied upon.
Not only is the company a marque specialist, it is a 600 model specialist, because Haynes was trained by the manufacturer to work on these cars when they were new. Which is quite some pedigree.
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Baby, you can drive my car
We said those hydraulics were expensive. How expensive? Well, when with John Haynes, close to £13k was sunk into draining out the hydraulic system’s fluid, and sending the four-gang window switch, front door-lock units, nearside front window ram, boot-lock unit and nearside front seat units away for specialist overhaul.
A fresh filter and hydraulic oil were next and the whole system reassembled and repressurised, so now you can enjoy the silent operation of its powered windows once more. Phew!
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Ticket to ride
During this same bout of specialist care, this W100 600’s wheels were painted and brought back to best, and a set of Maxxis thin whitewall tyres was fitted.
We think you’ll agree it looks very smart.
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All white
Collecting Cars describes its paintwork as being ‘in good order, with no significant marks’.
The factory-original choice of white does, we feel, suit this Grosser Mercedes very well, more uplifting than some of the more sober colours selected by a number of history’s far less loveable characters who are known to have owned 600s.
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Settling in
The seller also says the apparently original upholstery ‘remains in very good condition for its age’ which, judging by these photographs, seems to be a fair assessment.
After all, this is a 54-year-old classic car that has covered close to 100,000 miles.
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Bright spark
We are also told that, pleasingly for this car’s winning bidder, it has no electrical faults or issues with the switchgear, and no warning lights are illuminated on the dash after start-up.
That’ll be thanks to more of that specialist care, then…
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Money can’t buy you love
What Collecting Cars hasn’t given us is an indication of what it thinks this ex-George Harrison Mercedes-Benz 600 could sell for.
The most one has ever achieved at auction is €537,600, which was back in February 2014 with RM Sotheby’s in Paris, and the car in question was described as a ‘barn-find’ 1971 600 six-door Pullman Landaulet – one of just 26 such versions produced.
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Money talks
Then, in December 2018, against a pre-sale estimate of €180-260,000 but offered without reserve, an unrestored, matching-numbers, 73,000km, 1964 600 Pullman sold for €383,800 with Dorotheum in Vienna.
That car had the cachet of being a former Austrian state car that served three presidents.
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Stretching the point
Of course, these were both the longer, six-door versions, so instead of a 3200mm wheelbase and an overall length of 5540mm, for a six-door Pullman limousine these numbers jump to 3900mm and 6240mm respectively.
George Harrison’s W100 was opulent, but slightly more modest than some.
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Please please
This 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600, still in its original factory colour combination and formerly the property of The Beatles’ George Harrison, is being sold online now with Collecting Cars.
Bidding is open and closes next Tuesday, 27 July 2021, at 7:05pm – find out more here.