Investigation: Sonderschutzs of the Korean Peninsula

Korean Peninsula Mystery

It started with a 140 I met when I was traveling in Pyongyang in 2014. I have a lot of confusion about the cars from the Korean Peninsula, and there are always new discoveries in the process of exploration. The unknown model year S 320 below is what I saw in the parking lot of Yanggakdo Hotel. It has unusual features such as front and rear lights, body color mistmatch each other. At first I thought it was a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK) handy repair, but the red license plate symbolizing the foreign agency was a good reminder that the car might be from Republic of Korea(ROK).

^{This unknown S 320 has pre-facelift (1991-1994) headlights, facelift body & color(1994-1996) and 1997-1998 taillights and rims.(photo:Yunce)}

Because ROK regulations insist on orange turn signal lens, the 1991-1998 ROK-spec S-class always equipped the pre-facelift headlights and turn signals until end of the production, which is the only example in the world. That’s right, even though fewer than 1,800 S-Classes were officially sold in ROK from 1991-1998, the ROK-spec car still had its own specification, SA code 835.

DPRK has fewer orders, only 231 in total, and a considerable part of them is reexported to China for sale. Theoratically, nothing of these 140s was made specifically for the DPRK’s regulations. According to my observations in Pyongyang, except for the DPRK highest authority cars that are ordered directly from Daimler AG, most of DPRK’s 140 are actually used cars imported from other countries. For the highest authority, in addition to the Pullmans, DPRK ordered a total of 12 Sonderschutz (safety version) in two installments, 8 in 1992 and 4 in 1993, all are V12s. Images of these cars came up infrequently so my research progressed very slowl in previous years. The 1992 car has bunch of colors, including 040 Black, 122 Pearl Grey Metallic, 199 Pearl Black Metallic, 888 Beryl Metallic, 929 Nautical Blue, but so far I have not seen any car other than black. The delivery of these cars spanned from December 1992 to April 1993, when the supreme leader was Kim Il Sung. There is no doubt that some of these cars will be used by Kim Il Sung.

Kim Il Sung died suddenly in July 1994, and then a 040 black Sonderschutz was sent to Ku’msusan Palace as a representative car display used by Kim Il Sung during his lifetime. This looks to be a very original car, save for the V12 badge being slightly higher than the factory location. For the record, DPRK didn’t require to remove the model designation like typical Sonderschutz users do. Three of in eight ordered in 1992 were 040 Black. The earliest one delivered in March 1993, and the latest one was in April 1993. That is to say, if the vehicle is stopped being used immediately, even if Kim Il Sung used the earliest delivered car, and the international transportation time was infinitely compressed, he would have used it for only 16 months maxium.

It is not easy to pinpoint the exact date the car entered Ku’msusan Palace, but in 1999 DPRK issued stamps commemorating the 5th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death, including this black Sonderschutz, it was already there. Since the stamps are hand painted, the low res do not provide much information. In 2003, DPRK released a newer version of photocopy, included in the series “Cars used by Kim Il Sung”, which looks the same as all known photos.

Although it has only been used for a short period of more than a year, no single photo of Kim Il Sung with any 140 has been found so far. This car is still the only personal vehicle displayed in Ku’msusan Palace. But with the advent of the digital age, Kim Il Sung’s successor, Kim Jong Il, has been photographed several times with Sonderschutz. Most famously for his meeting with Medvedev in Ulan-Ude, Russia in August 2011, a 040 Black Sonderschutz carried by his armored train dominated the transport of protection for Kim Jong Il.

^{Kim Jong Il’s convoy is driving in Ulan-Ude, Siberia (photo:AP)}

The car looks identical to the show car above – the 600 SEL used by his father Kim Il Sung in 040 Black, but don’t lose sight of the important non-critical information. Despite the car’s two-tone body and orange turn signals, its headlights are facelift version. The 4 Sonderschutzs ordered by DPRK in 1993 were all 040 Black with velour interiors in three different colours. Although the order was placed in 1993, cars were delivered on the last day of March 1994, the same time the 140 sedan launched its facelift.

Yes, the first facelift Sonderschutz was manufactured in mid March 1994, and it was for Daimler AG internal use. Then DPRK collected vehicles 2 to 5, they were actually the first customer of facelift Sonderschutz. Let’s look at more photos of what appears to be the car, the rear photo shows the car has facelift taillights & trunk lid, given the complexity of replacing the trunk lid, I’m leaning towards this being a tuned facelift Sonderschutz, not a pre-facelift car with upgraded facelift light system.

The front view shows that the air intake grille is also pre-facelift, and they have denser vertical lines. I would say this is a subtle change. Of course, I may have overlooked the fact that the facelift Sonderschutz should be equipped with a V12-exclusive air intake grille, by all means the air intake grille on the photo is not the original one. Also, the apparently out-of-cycle Parktronic, with sensors on the front and rear bumpers, was released in March 1995, but I want to revisit this later.

As a facelift Sonderschutz, its unusual features are:

1. Pre-facelift front turn signals
2. Pre-facelift radiator grille
3. Retrofit Parktronic system

Then imagine, due to the waiting time (usually 3+ months) from order placement to delivery of Sonderschutz, the facts could be:

1. DPRK placed an order in late 1993.
2. DPRK assumed that the order placed in 1993 will be honored with the appearance of the car at the order placement time.
3. Fortunately, cars delivered to them are freshly updated.
4. But unfortunately, they prefer to receive the appearance of the original plan to expect the car.
   

So they probably mofied the pre-facelift grille and turn signals themselves, or the work was done at the factory as a special order. Apparently they reviewed the new lenss and maybe after being told of the improved performance of the new version they thought it was “not bad” and after being told that restoring the old taillights would require replacing the trunk lid they thought it was “not worth it”. Again, this is just my assumption, maybe it’s all very simple – just camouflaging the new car with a high degree of similarity to the old car for safety reasons, if the assassin doesn’t know these cars as well as I do, then he will be trapped.

Tacit agreement from south of 38°N

ROK is of course an inseparable market for automobiles on the Korean peninsula, please forgive me for not involving too extensive history in this simple study, we will only focus on Sonderschutz. Yes, South Korean leaders know that Daimler can provide the safest shuttle, even though they are always proud of their domestically produced cars, frequently appearing on the most fashionable Korean luxury brands. On low profile visits and non-political events, they use Sonderschutzs and armored Cadillacs to shuttle around Korea, these low profile black Mercedes don’t fly any flags, like any successful Korean citizen, it’s guaranteed to be safe the best way.

ROK authorities ordered Sonderschutz three times, but only 1 each time, in 1994, 1995 and 1997, all 3 were 199 pearl black and 268A gray leather, they were all ROK-spec (SA code 835). The only president corresponding to this period is Kim Young-sam, since his term of office started from 1993, the 140s only accompanied him 3 years. Picture below is related to Daegu subway construction Gas explosion in April 1995.

When I first saw this picture, my eyes almost deceived me – it must be a pre-facelift, there are pre-facelift headlights and body color. But I soon found out that ROK didn’t get any Sonderschtuz before 1995, so I checked the pictures again. Well, the grille is facelift, they have less vertical lines than pre-facelift, this is ROK spec car with pre-facelift headlights and extra modified with pre-facelift radiator grilles. Another slightly deceptive phenomenon is that since Sonderschtuz’s facelift does not involve modification of the lower body, the front bumper is reasonable to be pre-facelifted, only the grille is telling the truth.

The point has not come yet, according to factory specifications, as I mentioned, all facelift Sonderschtuz models, both 500 and 600, are equipped with 600 raditor grille, which is the style with denser horizontal lines that you are familiar with. The air intake grille of this car is obviously not original, but considering that ROK has not had a pre-facelift before and does not need to make confusing camouflage for the new car, their thoughts may be the same as their counterparts in the north: they don’t like facelift.

As a facelift Sonderschutz, its unusual features include:

1. Pre-facelift headlights (required by Korean regulations)
2. Pre-facelift radiator grille

So in 1995, the leaders of both countries on the Korean Peninsula were riding in cars that was deliberately degenerated into an old model, 2/3 of the modifications were the same, and the color was the same. Is it just a coincidence?

^{By the end of 1995, Kim Young Sam’s fleet had only one Sonderschutz, in 1996 the second was added with same appearance. (photo:ehistory.go.kr)}

Kim Young-sam’s successor, President Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo Hyun continued to ride the Sonderschtuz accquired during Kim Young-sam’s term. The photo below was taken with President Roh Moo Hyun. This time, even though it looks like another pre-facelift, I wouldn’t be easily fooled again. Besides two tone body and pre-facelift headlights, there are sensors of Parktronic on bumpers and 1997-1998 taillights. Of the 3 Sonderschtuz in ROK, only the last one in model year 1997 was equipped with Parktronic, that’s it, #379184.

Since the two-tone bodywork was no longer available for 1997, it got additional camouflage and the lower part was repainted in 7700 Alto Gray, so the car’s modifications spanned even further. But this time they seem to be tired of replacing the grille, the facelift’s V12 grille is kept, maybe Kim Dae Jung likes something Kim Young Sam doesn’t.

In the scene above, the 1995 in background replaced the pre-facelift raditor grille of Kim Young-sam period with the facelift V12 design. This could again be for safety or aesthetic reasons, and of course the same thing with DPRK is that they both choose to make the new cars look like the old models, rather than vanity upgrading the old models to look like the new ones.

Although all 3 cars were delivered during Kim Young Sam’s tenure, they were more with Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun. This is a common phenomenon in researching authority cars, cars tend to be replaced mid-term, but the life of the car is longer than the user’s remaining tenure, and if they cannot be re-elected, the car will be inherited by the successor. Today in the Presidential Archives of South Korea, #379184 is displayed as one of the President’s cars.

^{The year of the car is marked as 1995, but the taillights are clearly from 1997 and should just be a mistake. (photo:Damian B Oh)}

Parktronic retrofit

I’m going to make Parktronic on DPRK cars a separate chapter, which can be very informative.

As mentioned earlier, all of DPRK Sonderschtuzs were delivered in a time when Parktronic did not exist, but apparently all of Kim Jong Il’s Sonderschtuz were equipped with a full Parktronic package, whether the car appeared in Ulan-Ude or the car in Pyongyang. Including 6 sensors at the front and 4 sensors at the rear. Do DPRK leaders need to be considerate of drivers nervously side-parking in Pyongyang? Did they invite Daimler to do a complete upgrade for this?

I didn’t have much of a clue until I came across a Sonderschtuz for sale in Germany. Maybe it was 2011 and this 1992 600 SEL with 040 Black paint and 967A red velour interior appeared in an ad on mobile.de, and it was not sold by a mediocre used car dealer, but by CARO in Hamburg, they are not only a international auto trading company, but also provides interior customization, extended luxury cars, and armored car conversion services with glorious history. http://www.caro-hamburg.de, the website does not seem to have been updated again since 2010.

^{It has just over 3000 km mileage and people are talking about who bought a car and buried it for 20 years.(photo:CARO)}

The color combination of this car is charming, the red velour itself is rather rare and exclusive, under the serious black outer coat, ah, apparently you are a serious dominator, get in the car and draw the curtains, you have your own flavor. What strikes me is the Parktronic, a 1993 car with full Parktronic, just like the DPRK car looks like. Seen inside, with displays on the dash vents, every sesnors literly full functioned. Soon I ran into a problem, the database does not exist a black body, red velour interior Sonderschtuz. In fact, only one Sonderschtuz with red velour was built, that car was in 122 Pearl Grey Metallic, delivered to DPRK.

Has this car been repainted? With such low mileage, repainting is less convincing, and I don’t think 122 Pearl Grey Metallic is a shameful color. Fortunately, one of the hallmarks of the Sonderschtuz cabin is that the sides are not obscured by the black trim. If it wasn’t for some kind of reflective coincidence, I think I’m seeing gray instead of black near the ignition module on driver side.

OK, so it’s a DPRK car originally 122 Pearl Grey Metallic, which begs more conundrums. Why is he in Hamburg? And why have such low mileage? I think Parktronic itself might have the answer. The 140 is a complex car in itself, while the Parktronic, maintenance gurus might say, the principle is simple, well, the installation work is another matter. The placement of the holes looks seamless, and notice the display screen on red vents. For the original pre-facelift, only the V12 has red vents, the rest of the models have black parts. And for the new part with the display, according to EPC, never available in red. After all, red interior is no longer offered after model year 1996, and the Parktronic is only an option after March 1995.

Well, considering DPRK never officially imported any 140 with factory Parktronic, they didn’t even get a chance to practice, is it possible to order the parts precisely and install them without error? Maybe DPRK has people like us who love 140, but there is a high probability that this will become the work of the Germans. I repeat, the red vents were most likely disassembled and repainted using parts of a different color, a precise job. As for the rear PTS display on the roof, it is integrated into the reading lights. I’ve tried and failed to separate the screen and lens, which probably explains why they’re grey instead of red – couldn’t ideally be repainted.

Combined with the fact that CARO has multiple businesses, I would guess that they provide this service for DPRK, and the port of Hamburg provides a lot of convenience for shipping. As for why it stays here? Maybe there was an accident with the shipping and its paint was corroded. Maybe it was left here as payment or collateral and never left, since DPRK has been in trouble since the mid 90’s, one can only guess.

As for what the system is for, parking seems unnecessary on the DPRK’s wide open roads. Of course, in the daily use of Sonderschutz, since the sun protection film is not allowed to be applied to the polycarbonate glass, the rear curtain is always closed, which makes it very difficult for the driver to reverse the car. Maybe it’s all just for easier low parking in armored trains.

Now I want to go back to the North, because DPRK people honor their leaders in the same way. I don’t have clear pictures, but what is certain is that after Kim Jong Il’s death, his car was displayed like his father’s car. Ku’msusan Palace is not a casual tourist attraction, at least not a place that welcomes foreign tourists, and I certainly wouldn’t mind taking a look if I could.

Blurred photos from the internet show a 040 Black Sonderschtuz being exhibited, the biggest difference from all previous photos is that this car has a facelift grille, I don’t know if it was the one used in Ulan-Ude, because there are 4 same facelift Sonderschtuzs, maybe this is another one used in Kim Jong Il. Additionally, it has the pre-facelift headlight, not only the turn signals, but assembly.

All in all, eventually the 1994 sonderschutz from DPRK modified to pre-facelift trun signals and Parktronic. And the 1997 from ROK step forward with two-tone color modification and ROK-spec headlights, making both cars looks twins. Did leadership of both Korean countries came to an agreement that exhibit their cars in same look? in I have to sigh that blood is thicker than water in the divided Korean Peninsula.

^{All investigations are based on limited information, please email me if you have doubts about the veracity of this article. If you want to quote the content of this article, please contact me in advance, please do not use my text for any commercial purposes.}

^{Note: Most of the pictures cited in this article cannot be traced to the source due to their long history. If the author needs to indicate the copyright, please contact me.}