Mercedes 600 Grosser, the car from the movie “A chair for two”

Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser, Winthorpe’s limousine in the Christmas Eve classic of Italian television

At Christmas there is a certainty. A constant that accompanies Italians even in the year of the pandemic that has upset all programs and habits. Except one. On Italia 1, on the evening before, as for 23 years now, there is “A chair for two” in programming.

The film should have been called “Black and White”, but the director John Landis did not like that eight years later, in 1991, will shoot the video clip of Michael Jackson’s hit “Black or white”. Also discarded “Trading places” the final version of the title for the 1983 film, inspired by the stories of Mark Twain and the direct experience of the director, friend of two brothers heated rivals on the tennis court.

In the film, the car that symbolizes Winthorpe’s luxury and wealth is one Mercedes Benz 600 Grosser, a one-of-a-kind limousine with a complex hydraulic system.

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Mercedes 600 Grosser, the limousine of “A chair for two”

Designed since 1963, in the first version it had a 250 horsepower engine that allowed a top speed of 205 km / h. Characterized by a majestic design, it possessed an air suspension that could be adjusted in height directly through steering.

Shortly after the launch of the limo, the German government he asked the Daimler-Benz AG to also produce a bulletproof version for state visits. But in light of the particular suspension mechanism that held the car body, this request meant one complete reinvention of materials for body armor: double layer of steel in some places, use of ceramic in the parts with flatter surfaces. The glass also required a new design with curved lines.

The first bulletproof model was delivered in record time in June 1965, just before the visit of Queen Elizabeth II of England. It has a raised roof so that the sovereign does not have to take off her inseparable hat.

Given the considerably greater weight of the bulletproof version, a hydraulic system activated with a button inside the doors it also regulated the opening of the rear doors and the trunk.

Mercedes-Benz launched a second generation of bulletproof 600s starting in 1981. In some cases, also intended for private customers.

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