Impression: W140s in the GON 95 years exhibition

I had the opportunity to see four exclusive armored W140s at an exhibition in Moscow in 2016. I’m glad I did, because subsequent events have proven that this lineup is difficult to recreate.

At this moment, linking Mercedes-Benz to the Russian authorities may be an unpopular topic. In any case, we are talking about what happened in the past. If I were asked to rank the exclusivity that W140 clients can be honored, then the MB board, German authorities, Royal Family of Oman, Royal Family of Jordan and Russian authorities belong to the top echelon. Mercedes-Benz provides the most exclusive customization to these clients. Yes, since MB does not directly provide exclusive cars to the Brunei Royal Family, BRF is not on this list.

Even the AMG Japan cars, which are just expanded displacement and additional wood trim to door panels, are prestigious but far inferior to the most sophisticated methodology that can be done by the Mercedes factory, the users of those cars are just civilians. Unfortunately, you can only enter the truly exclusive vehicle club if you have a considerable amount of taxpayers’ income to spend. Among them, Oman, Jordan and Russian are foreign rulers. They are not the most wealthy or opulent among rulers on the earth, but they are the most passionate about Mercedes also with enough budget. Other clients, such as the Samsung, although they also have impeccable refined cars, are smaller in scale.

In fact, the Russian Federation authorities did not have much budget for Mercedes. They did not order too many at all. Regarding the armored S-Klasse directly provided by MB, from 1993 to 2000, a total of “only” 14. In contrast, Turkey ordered 60. However, only the Russians’ distinguished requirements attentioned MB management. In the end, the Russians got a perfect customized model on just a smaller order, perhaps you can see this in the context of Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s relationship with President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s.

The GON (ГОН) menas Special Purpose Garage that originated from the Tsarist period, dating back to 1921. It went through the USSR and continues to serve the leadership of new Russia. Currently it is a division of the FSO, but GON cars only serve a few people in the Russian authorities, only 8 in total if I remember correctly. Including the President, the PM, the General Prosecutor, foreign visitors. Interestingly, although there was a time when it was not a proud for people’s representive to use western cars in Russia, the Russian authorities are not ashamed to show the public where their money goes. Of course, if you are a Russian taxpayer but you love cars, after checking these you may console yourself that your money went to a tastefully place.

In 2011, GON held their first 90th anniversary exhibition in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park, with some of the rare W140s. I saw the photos soon after the exhibition started. So when they were planning their 95th anniversary exhibition in early 2016, I immediately booked a flight to Moscow after getting a list of the cars from my friends in advance. Back in March 2016, I had just established contact with Christian from mb-w140.de and was not so knowledgeable about the W140, but I decided to see the cars. I even dragged my photographer friend Bin Jia along, I told him that there might not be such an line up anymore. You have to understand that these cars are aging models and they will probably be sold soon. Or, the exhibition is part of the sale.

• Mercedes-Benz S600L,
• Mercedes-Benz S500 TB,
• Mercedes-Benz S600L TB,
• Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard

I filteted 4 possilble W140s in the list. “TB” refers TRASCO BREMEN. But, with no year or other annotations, it’s a lottery. Somehow, I felt that this was a opportunity I shall never miss. At the 2011 exhibition, two W140s were exhibited, 1993 S 500 TB and 1995 S 600 Pullman. So, not only more cars this time, they could have never been exhibited before. It turned out that my decision to go to Moscow in person was wise, because GON has not held an exhibition since then. The GON museum opened for the 100th anniversary, but there was only one W140 on display. Because of the museum, they will never open other venues to show the other cars in storage to the public. This exhibition is the largest and the last one with the most W140s. So, enjoy my memories.

After arriving in Moscow and resting for a night, I went to a friend’s factory, ZIL MSC6, in the next day’s morning. This used to be the workshop that made state limousines for the USSR, and it is now dismantled. At that time, it had just been acquired, they were start building ZIL using remaining parts and tools from the old facilities. Not surprisingly, they were also exhibitors, so I took my friend’s car to Sokolniki Park. I was proud of my ZIL friend, her. As a sparkly woman, very professional on cars, and later she became the CEO of the GON Museum. Anyway, she has left that position to become a good mother.

The first half day was for the press. People were not ready yet, national TV stations have not yet started recording their shows but I had already come in with friends. The exhibition consists of three halls. The outermost hall is the old timer restoration supplier, and the hall in the middle is the Western old timer exhibition. The innermost hall is the exclusive exhibition of GON, which is covered with red carpet. In addition to the Tsar’s garage, the latest additions of Kremlin are also displayed here.

This is the latest G63 XXL, not even used by GON yet, I was a bit worried it would leave the show soon so I spent some time here first. Anyway, these cars have tinted windows so you can’t see through at all.

First I walked around the halls completely to spot interesting targets. The exhibition was going to last 4 days so my hotel was booked for 5 nights, I stayed until the last minute to check everything I could. Frankly even if you don’t like Russian government cars, you should come and see it if you were just a Mercedes guy. You can’t see so many Pullmans for just a few dollars anywhere else.

The four W140s were placed in its individual block, when I walked up to them, I was so mind blowing. I’m the rat fell into the rice jar. I’m going to stay here for four days! But at the time, I couldn’t fully identify what they are, not to the extent that I do now.

The four cars are arranged in a less rational order. I would like to give more precise names. On the far left is the factory length 1996 S 600 Sonderschutz, then the 1995 TSF 140-42 (S 500) which is 42 inches stretched, then the 1997 TSF 140-20 (S 600) which is 20 inches stretched, then the 2000 S 600 Pullman Guard which is 1000 mm stretched. All fours are armoured. Let’s understand the photos taken at the time with my current knowledge.

The first one, 1996 S 600 Sonderschutz. Interestingly, on the first morning, all armored Mercedes had their name description on license plate with no additional mark, like this one, simply S600L. But in the afternoon they had the Guard in Russian as a suffix. My photographer friend found this.

This is probably the least attrative of the four W140s due to its length. But I’m glad GON brought this car because I later found it to be one of the most interesting W140s, and guess what, it’s still here because the curators knew its value. Indirect sources indicate that a total of 27 armored Pullmans were built. However, my count is 26. Anyway, there was no 27th. If you must ask me where the 27th went, I would say this is it. I had a chance to look at the car’s registration documents and it is indeed referred to by Russia’s motor vehicle administration as the S 600 Пуллман.

This car was delivered in September 1996 with the second Pullman ordered by GON after IAA 1995. But it waited three months for delivery along with the second Pullman, entering service in January 1997. When GON received the first Pullman, a similar car was also ordered, which is my Beatrice. However, Beatrice was a leader in convoy and this one was not. This car was used by President Yeltsin for his vacation in Sochi and was rarely driven.

Because it was to be matched with the Pullman, it also has the Pullman paint 009 Sapphire Black. What makes it really unique is that it comes with Pullman equipment in the back. Including armrests, cabinet, cool box, CD changers and universal reading lights. Literly a Pullman without second row. Unfortunately, these are all blocked by the completely black tinted side window. According to factory instructions, the fragile polycarbonate layer of Isoclima OmniArmor should not be applied with any addhesive, but GON eventually did so.

One of its unique points is the blue flahser Kranefeld Sputnik, which is equipped only on cars used by the president. Usually, only TRASCO limousines and Pullmans have them. Oddly, according to production records, the right rear fender of this car should have had a taxi antenna sawn off to 753 mm for their Kenwood transreceiver radio. The actual car does not have this antenna, probably because the GON had to change their communication frequency in order to transport these cars in the IL-76. My Beatrice’s antenna also trimmed off.

The center console is similar to the Beatrice design, with the ashtray removed and a slot for the Kenwood compact radio unit instead. The Ericsson Orion radio control unit next to the center console. However, the Kenwood slot is now blocked, which may be the reason for the disappearance of the antenna on the right rear fender. And huge armrest specially made to hold the phone handle.

One special note about the phone box armrest. In the production instructions, the production department specifically emphasized that the cover must open towards the driver, unlike all other GON cars open towards the passenger. This indicates who might be driving the car, and why the president needs a Pullman with less rear legroom. Although Yeltsin was not known for his love of cars, he did mention such kind of things in his memoirs. Even after retirement, he enjoyed driving around the official residence with his grandson in the armored Mercedes he once rode in.

CT 265/40R 500 114H tyre. This is the first Sonderschutz I have checked in person. I crouched down and looked at the CTS-1 rims for a long time, I guess they are the only rims in the world that you don’t have to worry about scratches. But there are scrathes anyway, it must be caused by storage movement. GON interchange tyres between different vehicles when winter comes. It is also 8-Loch, but without the shiny anodized aluminum surface, just silver paint.

The car was hardly ever photographed before 2010, when it was located in Sochi. Although built for Yeltsin, he hardly used it, driving just over 15,000 km by 2000. His successors drove the car quite a bit more. By 2006, it had clocked over 100,000 km. Around 2010 the car became aged and less vital, began to be used by lower ranking politicians other than the president. It is in good condition and very original. I would rate this car the highest of the 4 cars, my favorite. This is not an ordinary Sonderschtuz, not at all. This one is still on GON’s balance sheet.

The second, oldest of the four cars, is a 1995 TSF 140-42. Obviously such a long car is for the president, but it is the only V8 here. GON didn’t have a V12 until Pullman joined GON in early 1996, you can appreciate the clean of the Russian leadership, they won’t waste money unless Mercedes asked them to. A pair of such car ordered in 1994 because of the dissatisfaction with the space of the previous shorter TSF 140-20 ordered in 1993 that GON asked TRASCO to build them a longer armored vehicle. At that time, the 42-inch only had a non-armored version on the price list, so GON was the first user of TRASCO’s 42-inch armored vehicle. So it was also exclusive to a certain extent. Later, it became a standard product also offered to other countries.

My apologies to borrow some better pictures from other authors. My friend Bin is currently working in Italy and keep our camera photos back up in his home in Beijing. By end of this year I will update more details with our own pictures. The paint is 366 Azurite Blue, which is the mainstream blue after the facelift. There is a story behind it. GON staff told me that they messed up when they ordered TSF 140-20 from TRASCO in 1993. Someone mistook the dark blue on the color sample as black, so they got blue cars. Since GON chose this more-blue blue again when ordering new cars for the president in 1994, maybe the rumor of misreading the color card before is untenable.

The line of the stretched sheet metal alone showed that the TRASCO quality was not so ideal. After all this pair did not perform as well as its shorter and lighter predecessor. So when the Pullman was launched in 1995, GON immediately took over the show car and put the TRASCOs into storage. Both vehicles had been used for less than a year by then. GON staff told me that once this car drove Yeltsin over a hill, and the guards could not open the rear door.

Interior photos taken by friend. Like the earlier TSF 140-020 with grey velour, basically it has a rear passenger compartment consisting of 4 seats. Unlike the regular Pullman or other TRASCO, the left and right passenger areas are separated by a partition wall. This is also a huge center console and cabinet. All subsequent President W140s were built with such console layout. The older style seatbelt buckles tell you that these seats are not only pre-facelift, but were manufactured before July 1993. Meanwhile the seatbelt buckles of front seats are newer style.

Since TRASCO build vehicles for the Russian president earlier than Mercedes, many solutions were actually first introduced by TRASCO and then inherited by Mercedes. For example, the flashing lights Kranefeld Type 40 are hidden behind the bumper, the one on the driver’s side corresponds to the position of the ATF raditor. This is funny, if this was a V12 with an ATF radiator, the flashing lights should not be installed in that position. But, this is a V8, no problem. Since May 1993, the ATF radiator has eliminated from the V8 models.

TRASCO doesn’t have CTS wheels from Continental, but they have a similar solution in rims. It’s just that their product has a lighter weight and less stringent redundancy requirements, without the extra tire width. However, considering the weight of the vehicle is at least 3500 kg, maybe some heavier tires are suitable. Here it seems to be just a regular Continental winter tire.

The reason why GON did not choose the more dedicated Duchatelet but the somewhat rough TRASCO was not because they had a superstitious faith in German manufacturing – Duchatelet provided the armored W140 streched limousine too late, when Pullman was almost out of production. I think this pair are facelifted using pre-facelift cars, at least they have pre-facelift door panels. When the customer doesn’t care, TRASCO is sometimes not so dedicate, they will make some puzzle cars like Jankel. However, these two cars were given new VIN by TRASCO, there is no way to know their original serial numbers.

Interestingly, the new president re-used both cars after his term began in 2000, and used them for his inauguration and then on his general foreign visits. After retiring from service with Yeltsin in the early 2000s, the Pullman went into a period of repair. A new car had not yet arrived, so the mothballed but brand new TRASCO was used as a transition. The other of the twin was sold in 2016, but this one is still on GON’s balance sheet.

The third is a “slightly” stretched 20-inch TRASCO armored limousine, TSF 140-20. Something has to come first: As an S 600, it has been fitted with a non-V12 grille in recent years. The change to the grille started around 2010, when a few other Pullmans from GON also received such grille. GON don’t seem to be partial to the V12 exclusive look. This car is actually a bit reluctant to enter this zone, because all other cars are built for the president, this one is not so.

Of course, if you value the person more than the position, then the person who rides this car has been the president for a long time later. Putin participated in the presidential election in early 2000 as the acting president with this car. This may also be the reason why it is here. The four cars here are actually related to the current president. This car was the last of two W140s that GON ordered from TRASCO, not for the president, but with specs that surpassed the TSF 140-20 S 500 that Yeltsin had previously ridden, it is now an S 600.

They ordered a twin, Foreign Minister Primakov also rode one. These two, unlike others, were painted in 189 Emerald green black metallic. TRASCO order two S 600s with such color from factory and retained the original color after the conversion. I think it’s just to emulate Pullman’s 009 Sapphire Black to achieve a certain degree of unity. In 1996, it’s not that easy to get the formula of Pullman paint.

TRASCO was famous in the 80s for their armored capsules that surpassed the factory sonderschtuz, but they fell behind the factory way in the W140 era. The overall protection performance was lower than factory Sonderschutz, and the suspension was not strengthened enough. So GON no longer ordered 42-inch stretched cars after the Pullman was launched, but only ordered 20 inches, which Mercedes could not provide.

The drooping headlights are a common problem of both TRASCOs. All W140s had semi-gloss lower trim like when it left the factory. But both TRASCOs on display had shiny lower trim, which is their way of dealing with it. The flashing lights are still hidden behind the bumper, and this time, as a V12, they really blocked the ATF radiator on the driver’s side.

Since the two TRASCOs were placed on the inside of the block, the side could not be photographed. Here are some photos of the interior from the TRASCO, the same grey velour as the presidential car from 1994. There are no dividing walls like the TSF 140-20 used by the president, but instead there are curtains. The interior of such car is actually no mysterious, in 2012 the other of the twins was sold. But this car is currently still the property of the GON.

Cars like these could theoretically be meticulously cared for, but the rust around the windows is hard to hide. By the way, this car is a product of the “new” TRASCO, i.e. the ones produced after TRASCO was taken over by Sachsenring AG after its bankruptcy in 1996. The Sachsenring AG TRASCO is generally considered to be more precise. Now, do the Russians realize that the German colonial company that was still producing Trabant 5 years ago is now making top-notch S-Klasse to their leadership?

The fourth and the last, the 2000 S 600 Pullman Guard is the only car exclusive to the new president. This one doesn’t look quite as original, with the Michelin PAX wheels from the W221 standing out. As this car was still being used frequently by the president until shortly before going to the exhibition, safety rather than originality was a priority. It also has a non-V12 grille, so much so that DiP models mistakenly described them as S 500 Pullmans when they started making 1/43 models of these cars in 2011.

The paint is 197 Obsidian Black, which is no longer so exclusive. The main production of Pullman Guard actually started after the W140 civilian cars discontinued, they produced the body in advance and then looked for buyers to fill the interior. The car was originally built for the German authorities’ BKA – there were several unsold Pullmans that were used as a backup for the BKA. Then in February 2000 the salesman managed to find a customer for the half-finished car. Since this car, GON has only ordered black cars for the Russian leadership. Maybe the new president just prefers black.

In 2000 GON ordered two of these Pullmans, the last two of a total of four armored Pullmans they owned. However, these two cars were not ordered together as twins like usual. They were originally different cars, which were then modified to similar specifications. The two new ones were ordered to rotate two earlier Pullmans, which had more than 40,000 kilometers on the clock by 2000. GON originally ordered a third Pullman in 1997, but the construction was subsequently stopped and that car was sold to the Turkish authorities after being modified. Transfers of orders are common in Pullman and Sonderschutz construction.

Of all the stretched limousines in the W140’s history, the factory selection is undoubtedly the most sensible. They were designed by MB and Duchatelet, using body built from scratch rather than cut and stretched. At first only Sondershutz was available, then non-armored models began to be offered. In December 1998, four months after the W140 civilian model was discontinued, the Guard and Pullman Guard were officially launched and expanded the sales of the series. It was designed to continue to meet the needs of armored S-class customers during the period when the W220 Guard was not yet launched, and some customers preferred the discontinued W140. Make the end of W140 production at stopped in late 2000.

Pullman certainly has the best quality in the stretch parts. At first glance, it’s seamless. All the extra parts are specially made by the factory, from the lower stainless steel trim to the upper hematite trim and aluminum trim, the quality of these parts is no different from the rest of the car. Just consider that this car is also handmade, in fact, its gap control is not up to the level of civilian models, especially after many years of use, the door hinges began to deform.

An earlier shot of the interior. Inherited the layout from TRASCO, now 558 grey Exclusive leather, naturally more luxurious than the regular leather of the 1995 and 1996 Pullmans, but this is more because Sonderschutz did not offer the Exclusive interior trim until MY1997. Unlike the TSF 140-42, the passenger compartment has only 3 seats since the first Pullman, with the seat opposite the President vacant. Even in 2010 when this photo was taken, the interior already has some wear and tear, these cars have seen much more use than the earlier Pullmans and TSF 140-42s.

As a W140 produced in 2000, it has the stamp of its times – the airbag with the shining star is a W202 part, when original W140 airbag no longer available. Of course GON has their clean options: no walnut steering wheel, which has been a special request since their first Pullman. Although walnut steering wheel is standard even on the civilian S 600. In fact, it may be contrary to common sense that there is not much differentiation between individual Pullmans. Because their purposes are very similar: to transport passanger in the rear comfortably. So there is not much room for variation inside. There are not many communication facilities, no additional equipment for the chaufer to do other professional work. From this perspective, GON’s Pullman is not as exclusive as the one used by BKA.

The original Xenon headlights have numerous stone dents and the taillights have leaked. Apparently this Pullman had the most use of the 4 and it is no longer near mint. I heard there are some European collectors who wanted to acquire this car. Honestly, how much do you think it worth? People at GON told me that someone offered it up to €150,000, and that was in 2016. For reference, they sold the 1995 and 1996 Pullman a few months later for $60,000 each. Even for collectors who are not interested in Pullman, one of the special values ​​is that, judging by the serial numbers, they are the last two W140s, A432740 and A432741. So, which one is this?

On the last day of the exhibition, my friend came over and told me that I could fulfill 3 of my wishes, but it couldn’t be to open the doors of those new cars under using by their boss. The first one? Without thinking, I pointed to this, I wanted to see its engine bay to determine the serial number. The serial number of the Sonderschutz is stamped on the passanger headlight frame. My phone was an iPhone 6, and it is a bit aged. After arriving in Moscow, I found that it began to crash at the moment of taking pictures, more and more frequently. It may be that the low temperature triggered the weak battery. Finally, when I was taking pictures of the engine bay of this car, it crashed again. It was really embarrassing, how could it be at this time? When it restarted a few minutes later, I could no longer ask it to open for me more time. However, the photos were fortunately saved.

You can see faint stamping on the passenger headlight frame, the last digit is 1, it is A432741. The last W140? I actually think the opposite, I believe A432740 is the last, the serial number does not represent the actual production sequence. Just looking at the order of the two cars, the build of A432740 was 6 months after A432741. Despite being ordered and delivered in 2000, these two cars did not replace the transitional TSF 140-42 until later in 2002. Unlike previous twins, at least one of which was sold, these two very similar cars are still retained by GON today, one of which is in the GON Museum.

I don’t remember what my second and third wishes were, they are not important. What is important is that I overlooked what I later found to be the most valuable on the short Pullman. Not only was it unique, but it had a center console that was exclusive but indentical to Beatrice. If I could sit in it, it would be a great help in restoring Beatrice. I still don’t know what model the Kenwood compact radio in the center console was. I did see some photos of Beatrice taken in December 2002 on the wall. I own this car from October 2017.

The keys to all the cars are placed in the trunk of the W220 Guard. There was an exquisite wooden box with a piece of red satin under the keys. What a safe!

Naturally, the Russians were curious about the ghostly presence of the Orientals. After all, I walked in earlier and left later than TV camaeramans in those 4 days.

In the long run, the exhibition was a warm-up for GON to sell spare cars. A few months later in summer, GON sold a TSF 140-42 and two Pullmans. Fortunately, all cars exhibited in this album are still owned by GON today, because those cars sold did not end up being any better. The maintenance of these cars needs to be supported by taxpayers and manufacturers, and few individuals can keep them running.

Then, these overly complex and exclusive cars are destined to be forgotten. One day, the people who ordered them will all leave, the manufacturers who have changed hand many times will no longer remember them, and the people who collected them will only care about how much they can appreciate in value. Then, don’t expect people to understand what these cars mean for the overall history of the W140, the history of the manufacturer, or the history of the world.

If GON does not show more of their car collection outside the museum, then the 2016 GON exhibition will be the swan song of the collection. Unfortunately, politics have changed a lot in the past few years, and I haven’t been to Russia since 2019. Even more, I have no interest in the GON museum. Maybe GON should finally consider displaying more of their treasures in brightly lit halls, rather than just a few trapped behind fences and dim lights.