Mercedes Claimed to Be Nazarbayev's Back on The Market — What the Owner Says

A unique listing has resurfaced on a popular Kazakh classifieds site: an armored 1993 Mercedes 600 SEL (Sonderschutz) GUARD B7, allegedly belonging to Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is up for sale for 222 million tenge.

Orda.kz contacted the current owner and the museum where the car was previously rumored to be kept.

This isn’t the first time the vehicle has been put up for sale — the same Mercedes was listed back in August 2023 but has yet to find a buyer. According to the advertisement on kolesa.kz, the car was custom-built for top state officials at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Germany. It features a factory-installed B7-level armored capsule, designed to withstand gunfire and explosions. The seller describes the car as:

A real antique and a whole history of our country!

The ad also highlights that the W140 S600L Guard model was a gold standard in security at the time. Unlike third-party retrofits, this factory model was engineered to handle the extra weight of its armor.

Car Features listed in the ad:

• Factory-installed armored capsule
• Protection class B7 (Can withstand fire from a Kalashnikov and up to 4 kg of TNT detonated underneath)
• Integrated fire suppression system
• Fuel tank protection that prevents fuel leakage in case of a puncture
• Special Continental CTS 265-40 R500 tires with reinforced inner rims
• V12 engine and automatic transmission

Was It Really Nazarbayev’s Car?

Orda.kz contacted the seller, who identified himself as Asset. He confidently claimed the car once belonged to Nazarbayev and that he had documentation to prove it. However, when asked about earlier reports suggesting the car had been displayed in a museum, Asset denied it.

No, this car was never in a museum. That’s not true. 

As for how he came to own such a rare vehicle, his reply was vague:

It just happened! 

He invited our journalist to Taraz to see the car in person but declined to provide more details, saying the questions seemed “odd.”

Interestingly, several media outlets had reported in spring 2023 that a similar Mercedes was on display at the First President’s Museum in Astana. Orda.kz tried to contact the museum for clarification but received no response.

In 2018, the Historical and Cultural Center of the First President in Temirtau was also given an armored Mercedes-Benz. However, that car was manufactured in 2005.

So far, despite the bold claims in the ad, there is no official confirmation that this vehicle truly belonged to Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina