Mercedes 600 ... x2

Toata lumea stie ca pentru cele mai importante parade oficiale, Ceausescu folosea un Mercedes 600 Pullman Landaulette (foto 1,2, din fototeca comunista). Intre 1964 si 1980, modelul 600 era varful de gama a companiei din Stuttgart. Peste doua maii au fost construite, marea majoritate berline. 59 Laundaulette decapotabile au fost fabricate. Masina exista si astazi intr-un muzeu in Bourgogne, Franta (foto 3, 4), dedicat masinilor prezidentiale. Ar fi interesat de aflat cum a iesit din Romania (dupa anii 70 nu a mai fost folosit, si nu a fost in licitatia din 2004, deci probabil a plecat putin dupa 1980), dar nu ne ocupa asta azi, pentru ca, rasfoind prin imagini vechi, am descoperit ca in Romania a mai existat un model 600, de data asta o "simpla" berlina. Masina se vede in poza 5. nu e atat de spectaculoasa ca Landaulette, bine inteles, dar oricum e vorba de un model care la vremea lui concura in direct cu Rolls-Royce, Bentley, si Cadillac Fleetwood. Dupa numere, masina se afla in dotarea guvernului. Ma intreb unde mergea, si pe cine cara in 1972, cand fotograful, un turist german, a indraznit sa o fotografieze...

Ca postscript, 600 nu e extinct in tara, un exemplar identic cu cel din poza 5 fiind in colectia Tiriac.

It's very wel known that Ceasuescu's top official car was a Mercedes 600 Pullman Landaulette. Between 1964 and 1980, the 600 was the top of the range Mercedes. Over 200 were built, but only 59 were Landaulettes. Ceasuescu's car still exists today (photo 3,4) in a museum in Burgundy, France, dedicated to presidential cars. I wonder how it reached there - the car was not used after the 1970s, was not in the 2004 auction of the Ceasuescu cars, so I assume it was exported in the early 80s. However, the shock of today is realising that there was more than one 600 in Romania at the time - the car in photo 5. It's not as spectacular as the Landaulette, of course, but still very impressive considering it was a direct competitor to Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Cadillac Fleetwood. Judging from the plates it was Government owned. I wonder where it was going in 1972, and who it was carrying, when the German tourist took the risk of taking a snapshot...

Incidentally the 600 lives in Romania, an example identical to photo 5 being in the Tiriac collection.