Mercedes-Benz Type Nürburg 500, formerly owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II
This Mercedes-Benz weighs nearly 3,000 kilograms, primarily due to the fact that it is lightly armoured.
Chassis and suspension have been strengthened. The car also has under-floor heating. However, the most interesting detail of this car is the interior communication system, which allowed the passenger to relay instructions to the driver without actually speaking to him. Buttons on a small console in the back were used to activate dashboard lights with directives such as: ‘Fast – Slow – Stop – Left – Right –Turn – Home’.
The owner of this Mercedes was the last German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. The navy grey paintwork betrays emperor’s preference for the fleet. As the Netherlands had remained neutral during World War I, he spent his exiled years living in Amerongen Castle and later on the Dutch estate ‘Huis Doorn’. He died in Doorn in 1941.