Taking the Tito

Ex-Marshal Tito Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet for sale for staggering sum 1,598% higher than similar examples owned by other dictators

“Benevolent communist dictator” Marshal Josip Tito, 1^st President of Yugoslavia (1892 – 1980) had use of a Boeing 727 plane, a private train and a 55-foot yacht but now the 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman ‘Presidential Landaulet’ he travelled around in from 1971 to 1980 is for sale for the staggering sum of £2.5 million ($3.1 million, €2.9 million or درهم11.4 million) through Tom Hartley Jnr. in Derbyshire, England.

Capable of achieving 0 mph to 100 mph in 10 seconds, this 2.5-tonne, 6.3-litre limousine was built to Tito’s personal specification. The ‘dictator-mobile’s’ bespoke features numbered not only a drinks cabinet but also a shaving kit in its rear centre console and despite having covered 17,012 miles and having passed through various owners, is in remarkably good condition.

Justifying the punchy price sought, in November 2016, Tom Hartley Jnr. told Car Dealer magazine:

“I’ve always been in love with the car. It’s a very significant and very important car – all of the Landaulets are, and only nine of them were built in the long roof, six-door configuration. Of those nine, this is probably regarded as the most original, the most unmolested car and it also has great provenance”.

A 1965 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman owned by China’s Foreign Minister, Chen Yi, sold for just £147,200 ($182,800, €172,500 or درهم671,400) in 2014 whilst just £225,000 ($279,400, €263,700 or درهم1.03 million) was sought for a 1977 example originally owned by Bokassa I of Central Africa in 2015.