RM Sotheby’s to auction off 53-year-old, glass-topped Mercedes-Benz 600

On September 21, 2019, RM Sotheby’s will attempt to find a new owner for a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 600 customized by Henri Chapron. The car has around 23,500 kilometers (14,600 miles) on the odometer and sports a slightly tinted panoramic glass roof.

In mid-1960s, famous oil mogul Nubar Gulbenkian asked Mercedes for a bespoke glass-roofed Mercedes-Benz 600 limo, but the company couldn’t fulfil his request. He then purchased a regular sedan and handed it over to French tuner shop Henri Chapron for extensive customization.

Aside from the glass dome, the vehicle gained an originally designed rear sofa that unfolds into a bed for two, a mini bar between the seats, tobacco pipe holders, and a duplicate instrument cluster (odometer and fuel meter) in the second row. Gulbenkian said he needed the other set of instruments to keep an eye out on his driver at all times.

After his death, it was his gardener who inherited the unique Mercedes. The car proceeded to change owners for several more times. Fortunately, they all took great care of it, so it is still in prime condition, RM Sotheby’s claims.

The auction holder expects to get at least €300,000 out of the deal.