Kim Jong-un Makes Grand Exit in Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard
North Korean dictator leaves historic summit in Singapore in the spiritual successor to the legendary 600 Grosser.
The Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser was a car with few peers. The former super-luxury flagship was a heavy battleship with adjustable air suspension, a hydraulic pressure system which powered everything from the windows to the trunk lid, and a big 6.3-liter M100 SOHC V8 with mechanical fuel injection and 300 horsepower (50 of which was used to power the hydraulics). Thus, it was the perfect car for celebrities and tycoons like Coco Chanel, Hugh Hefner and Jeremy Clarkson, as well as dictators like the North Korean trinity of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-un, of course, is a young, modern dictator with young, modern needs. Business Insider reported on a number of stories coming from the historic summit in Singapore with U.S. President Donald Trump early this week, including the chariot Jong-Un used to leave the summit: a W221-era Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard limousine, the spiritual successor to the 600 Grosser.
Of course, the publication spends more time on the current W222-era Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard than on Kim’s W221, which he’s had since at least 2014, if not earlier. Thus, we turn to Car and Driver to tell us more about Kim’s new-age Grosser. The W221 Pullman Guard had one engine available: a 5.5-liter, twin-turbo V12 linked delivering 510 horses and 612 lb-ft of torque through its five-speed automatic, good for a quick exit from tough situations.
Kim’s W221 Pullman Guard also likely has the higher of two protection packages available, the “Highest Protection” package. This package protects the glorious leader from shrapnel created by grenades and IEDs, large-caliber handgun ammo, and rifle-launched projectiles from any given military weapon.
And of course, luxury amenities like rear air conditioning, 19-inch monitor, a plush quartet of rear seats facing each other, and even a refrigerator are sure to keep Kim happy on his way back to Pyongyang. For him, the $700,000 to $1 million price tag for his S600 Pullman Guard was money well-spent.
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