Photos: This baller Mercedes is the ride of choice for dictators, despots, and fascist strongmen

The Queen of England also has a 600

King Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia (left) and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak wave to crowds from a Mercedes-Benz 600 “landaulet” convertible limousine during a tour of Egypt in 1989. (Mike Nelson/AFP/Getty Images)

If a lot of people want you dead, the Mercedes-Benz 600 might be the car for you. Assembled by hand in Germany on a made-to-order basis, the 600, which came in four variations, was the go-to for ultra-rich celebrities and heads of state during its short run from 1963 to 1981. Only 2,677 of these luxury behemoths were ever shipped, but for those with the resources—and the stature—to buy one, the “Grossier” (Grand) Mercedes definitely lived up to its name. Bulletproofing was optional.

The Grossier was enjoyed by cultural luminaries like Hugh Hefner, Jack Nicolson, Coco Channel, and Pope Paul VI. But its reputation is darkened by the scores of bad political actors who found comfort in its fortified and spacious cabin. Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong-il, Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi, Pol Pot, and Richard Nixon all rode in the 600, which, especially in unpredictable terrain, was an exceedingly dependable way to travel in style. Power and durability aside, the 600 used hydraulics—not electricity—for almost all of its internal functions, including seat positioning, door closure, the ventilation system, and the windows, which operated at a variable rate depending on how far you pushed the switch. It’s said that closing the window fast enough could break an arm—convenient should your motorcade find itself swarmed by hungry constituents.

The 600 had the loudest compressed-air horn of any production auto — the better to disperse a crowd of unruly pedestrians. A newly developed V8 engine with 300 horsepower turned one of the heaviest bodies on four wheels into a battering ram with tank-like intensity. Still, the suspension was immaculate.

In the mid 1960s, the Grossier went for $20,000 brand new. That’s about $150,000 in today’s money. It sounds like a lot, but is actually pretty reasonable considering that high-end electric cars selling for a comparable sum can’t even take a bullet. The again, anyone driving—or being driven in—a 600 probably wasn’t overly concerned with saving the planet either.

Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi is greeted by Hosni Mubarak as he steps out of his Grossier limo in 1989. (Thomas Hartwell/The Life Images Collection via Getty Images)

Leaders of the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh, including Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, and Son Sen, with a four-door Mercedes-Benz 600 in Phnom Penh between 1975 and 1979. (Frederic Amat/Sygma via Getty Images)

The Mercedes limousine of Central African Republic emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa is surrounded by camouflaged paratroopers during his coronation in Bangui on Sunday, December 4, 1977. Bokassa became known for imprisoning and murdering a group of children who threw rocks at his car in 1979. (AP)

Dictator of Chad, Francois Tombalbaye, right, accompanies French President Georges Pompidou through his capital city of N’Djamena on January 26, 1972. Tombalbaye would be assassinated less than three months later in a coup d’état. (AP)

U.S. President Richard Nixon cruises in a six-door “landaulet” convertible in 1970. (Stan Wayman/Life Magazine)

Queen Elizabeth II’s Mercedes receives a camel escort in Abu Dhabi during her tour of the Gulf States, February 1979. (Tim Graham/Getty Images)

(left) King Hussein of Jordan is escorted home in a customized six-door Pullman in 1999 after spending six months at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota undergoing chemotherapy. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images) | (right) North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at the hermit kingdom’s 65th anniversary parade in Pyongyang on October 10, 2010. (Youtube)

Israeli defense forces used a Mercedes-Benz 600 to pose as Ugandan ruler Idi Amin’s motorcade during a raid on Entebbe Airport in 1976. (Yitzhak Rabin Center)

Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito in Belgrade, 1971.

(left) Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai traveling in a four-door Grossier. | (right) Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu rides with his Yugoslav counterpart Josip Broz Tito in the early 1970s.