There, next to a Maybach, was a 600 with Norwegian Telemark signs.
Between the public entrance and the workshop gate in Mercedes-Benz World outside London stand two former prestige cars apparently left to their own fate. One is a Maybach 57, the other a Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) with Norwegian plates. It has been dropped on the suspension and the rear side window on the right is sealed with plastic, probably after vandalism.
- How did it end up here?
The only Mercedes-Benz 600 with Norwegian roots, is former circus director Arnardo's gold-coloured 600? Should there have been a 600 in original condition hidden in Telemark's forests? It would be a shame if such a car ended up out of the country.
A quick search on vegvesen.no reveals that H-65600 was imported used in 2014 and sold again just before Christmas 2017, - that is, 3 months ago. The car looks great, complete in sheet metal and with an intact interior. The dark green beauty with white curtains may have belonged to an Arab sheikh or a royal in Switzerland. At least now it has been bought back by Daimler AG and transported to Brooklands outside London. I sincerely hope someone has a plan for it before it rots.
In the premises inside, I found a right-hand drive W100 - but no Maybach. I see similarities between the W100 and the Maybach. Although there is more than 30 years between them, I hope that one day they will be able to stand together inside the exhibition building. Perhaps in a separate corner for the world's most luxurious vehicle?
Maybach was never a success
I think the Germans misjudged their customers when they gave the brand its own identity. The cars became too anonymous, like a toned-down S-Class, or even worse, - like a copy made in China. Only one copy ended up in Norwegian hands. Tinius Nagell-Erichsen's Maybach became nationally known after the owner fired his driver after a minor accident. The whole thing ended up as a farce in the media which put neither the car nor the previous owner in a particularly good light.
Wondering if Nagell-Erichsen's Maybach is still in Norway?
W100 and Maybach images
Two rare birds left to fend for themselves?H-65600 agrees well with vintage 65 of 600.Curtains protect important documents from being seen, or someone taking a hen's bun.
Engine is M100 6,3 V8 with approx. 250 HP, - or as Rolls-Royce would say: "Enough!".
When I was at the Classic Car Show at Exporama earlier this month, I took note of cars that are not only nice, but also rare.
Arnardo's Mercedes
I believe this is the only Mercedes-Benz 600 type W100 in Norway with Norwegian history. The golden grin suited the colorful circus director well. Just as well as it suited former Hollywood stars and oil sheikhs in the Gulf. In 1972, 172 examples of this beautiful car were produced, one of which ended up in Norway thanks to Arnardo.
The Mercedes-Benz W100 was produced between 1963-81 and was never replaced. Many claim that Maybach took up the legacy several years later. I disagree with that. The W100 is a unique chapter in automotive history.
Difficult to get far enough away to get the whole car into the picture. 5,54 meters long, 2,5 tonnes heavy.
Beautiful 300SE done in ivory white with matching steering wheel.
S-class
Lined up near Arnardo's huge battleship, the "Finn-Mercedes" W112 seems a little small, even though it represented the S-Class of the time. However, the 300 SE with a 3 liter inline six is no small car. I don't know if this car has Norwegian history, but such a car, with automatic transmission and air suspension as standard, would probably belong to a ship owner, or something like that. Therefore, early S-Class is a rare commodity... in Norway, that is.
Nice with chrome.
A low waistline and large glass surfaces are typical of the era.
Lamborghini Espada 400GT
Lamborghini has lived through several eras, and one can of course debate which one is the best. If I were to choose the most beautiful, I think it would have to be the Miura and then the Espada, - both from the first years of the car brand's history, and represented at the exhibition. I was able to take some pictures of the Espada. I've probably never been so close to an Espada before. It was a car that adorned posters in the boys' room and that the car magazines in the seventies wrote about - but that very few ever got to see up close.
A low center line and large glass surfaces were typical of the time. With a front-mounted engine and 4 seats, the Espada was not the toughest car in its class. It could still kick off with a 3,9 liter V12 and approximately 350 horses.
The Espada was made in 3 series from 1968 until bankruptcy in 1978. The model on display is probably a series-II car. You can see it in the design of the dashboard. Later, the radio was moved closer to the driver. I allow myself to be fascinated by the beautiful interior, which - after all these years - can surely be re-stitched.
The interior is typical for SII with wooden insets. Beautiful, but unfortunate placement of the radio.Magnesium rims from Campagnolo - who probably make the most beautiful wheels in the world.
Beautiful and very rare car for collectors around the world.
Iso Grifo
Admittedly, the Lamborghini Espada is a rare car, but the Iso Grifo is even rarer. Extremely rare! It was only built in 413 examples, and it is said that they were built without any kind of rust protection, so several examples must have already been turned into crackers.
Iso Grifo only made one model, based on a Chevy powertrain (5,4 V8), as well as a beautiful body designed by Giugiaro while at Bertone, - a design I would without a doubt place in the top 5 most beautiful. This was actually the first time I have seen an Iso Grifo with my own eyes. It amazes me how classic and timeless this car is.
I wonder if there were more people than me who first became aware of this great car brand through the world of toy cars. For the initiated, both Corgi Toys and Matchbox had Iso Grifo in their model program, – and the advertisements for these were read with wide eyes. I see that it is still possible to buy them on Ebay.
From this angle, one senses a certain resemblance to the Corvette.
A completely original Tatraplan with an assumed all-Swedish history.
Tatra plane
Talk about being ahead of its time!
This futuristic and streamlined spaceship was created in the 30s. The pictured model is probably from between 1949 and 1952. As it has old Swedish plates, I assume it also has Swedish history. I don't think Tatraplan was ever imported to Norway.
This is truly the "Back to the Future" car. It is extremely aerodynamic for its time, and brings to mind a spaceship with its small "stabilizer fin" growing out of the roof backwards above the engine cover. I think the show car would have looked best with the bonnet closed. But on the other hand, - how often do you get to look into the engine compartment of a Tatraplan? Common 4-cylinder rear engine solution, certainly not unlike the one we eventually saw in the later Skoda MB. But subsequent Tatras – the 603 – built in the communist era had air-cooled V8 engines placed in the rear. It was probably not just for the pleasure of the party pamps. I'm sure it must have been a great time for Czech engineers too.
Imagine if Audi had stepped in earlier and saved this fine car.
The forerunner of the Audi 100 C4?
The NSU Ro80 also belongs in the rare car department, although it is not as rare as some of the other cars featured here. The NSU Ro80 was sold in Norway through the NSU dealers and I remember seeing a couple of them on the road.
When I see it in the showroom, it reminded me of an Audi 100 C4 that I owned in the 90s. I would have thought that the same designer was behind both the Ro80 and the C4, but it's not official, although the designer behind the Ro80 worked for Audi after they bought NSU.
Unfortunately, the Ro80 was only known for its engine problems. The Wankel engines were probably not properly tested before they were put into production. It is said that whenever two Ro80 owners met each other on the road, they would show their fingers the number of times they had changed engines. However, the problem has long since been identified and fixed, so that today's Ro80 owners are unlikely to have to point fingers at each other.
It's a shame that such a fine car should end up in disrepute. I'm sure if NSU had more capital behind them, they would have offered an alternative engine offer during the life of the model, or had the wankel engine fixed.
Beautiful, beastly and rare.
Fiat 130 Coupé
There were two Fiat 130s on display, a sedan and a coupé. The two are totally different. The coupé has a typical late 70s feel, and seems to have been developed 10 years after the sedan version. I've always been fascinated by the coupe version, but have only seen a few in real life. For several years the car magazines "Motor" and "Nå bil-ekstra" had full-page advertisements for the Fiat 130 and 130 Coupé. But there was no one on the road. At least not the significantly more expensive coupe.
The coupe has some similarities to the sedan, but nothing visible. Not a single piece of sheet metal. Nothing of the interior. Pininfarina redesigned the entire car from the inside out. What these cars have in common is related to the chassis, suspension and brakes. The engines are different. The sedan has a 2,9 liter while the coupe has a 3,2 liter V6. I have forgotten what the cars cost in the 70s, but the coupe was in any case a lot more expensive than the sedan. Not surprising, because it was a completely different car. But the fact is that few in this country dared to put serious Porsche money into a Fiat. I don't think Fiat managed to sell more than a handful. Maybe not even that many.
In the 6 years the 130 coupé was in production, 4 cars were sold worldwide. That's about twice as many as the Lamborghini Espada sold at the same time. The probability that you will meet a 491 coupé on the road is nevertheless staggeringly small.
A few more cars
I'm taking some other cars with me too. They're not as rare, or not rare at all. I found two of them as private cars outside in the parking lot. One is a Daihatsu Copen. A funny name that I remember getting a lot of attention in CAR Magazine . Was it a pun on "coupé" or "Coupé open"? It reminds me a bit of the Ka convertible. I took a picture of the car because it's very rare in Norway. One of the reasons is that I think it was only delivered with the steering wheel on the right side.
The name doesn't hurt anyone, but British motoring media didn't like the name "Copen".
Lancia Flavia Coupé.
We have previously photographed the Lancia Flavia Coupé here at Terje's cars. It is a rare car anyway.
Also includes this nice picture from the exhibition's Amazon section.
