STATELY AT A
STRETCH At least half-a-dozen of South Africa’s leaders have been transported in this rare, right-hand drive Mercedes-Benz 600 that boasts a number of evocative descriptions. Mike Monk joins the list.
for the French presidential limousine built by Citroën. After fulfilling his military service in 1957, Bracq worked for Daimler-Benz as head of the design centre at Sindelfingen for 10 years. Bracq then returned to France and was employed in a number of styling roles that included the TGV high-speed passenger train. From 1970 he worked as design director at BMW for four
years followed by a stint with Peugeot, where he was involved in personal transportation for the Pope. Working with famed Daimler-Benz engineers and designers Friedrich Geiger and, latterly, Bruno Sacco, there can be little doubt that the 600 was conceived and developed in good hands. The car was offered in two basic formats: a short-wheelbase (3 200mm)
saloon capable of being owner driven, and a long-wheelbase (3 900mm) stretched version conceived to be driven by a chauffeur and with the option of a folding rear roof section. Additional body panels between the front and rear doors increased body length from the swb’s already sizeable 5 450mm to an even more substantial 6 240mm. The extra space this gave www.cpca.co.za | October/November 2014 | 33