If you’ve just inherited a small country, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman just might be the car for you.
The highly-anticipated, range-topping Mercedes sedan could be the largest and most expensive car of its type when it goes on sale next year.
Not only will the Pullman cost around $1 million in fully armor-plated form, it will also be 21 feet long, according to a new report from Bloomberg. That’s about 16 inches longer than an extended-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom.
What will Mercedes do with all of that extra space?
The Pullman will reportedly feature three rows of seats, but they’ll be nothing like what you’d in a minivan or crossover. The rear four seats will face each, limousine style. There will also be a partition separating the passengers from a chauffeur, so they can plot world domination in peace.
The gargantuan proportions, limo-style seating, and optional armor recall the new car’s namesake, the 600 Pullman. The 600-series Mercedes were the ultimate luxury cars of the 1960s, and have been owned by everyone from Idi Amin to Jeremy Clarkson.
It’s all reportedly part of a plan to expand the S-Claa range, allowing Mercedes to better compete with BMW and the Volkswagen Group in the high-prestige, and high-profit, ultra-luxury car segment.
In fact, there could be a whole family of S-Class models.
In addition to the Pullman and the new S-Class Coupe, Mercedes is reportedly planning a new Maybach model. Despite Mercedes previous attempt to style Maybach as a Rolls-Royce and Bentley alternative, this new model will reportedly sit below the Pullman in the hierarchy.
The three-pointed star has always carried plenty of prestige, but in recent times Mercedes hasn’t made anything that’s quite as opulent as the best from Britain. On sheer presence alone, the Pullman could change that.
