The 600 was first presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show in February 1958[1] and was in production by 1959, although the firm had published the first details of the car at the end of 1957.

In 1959 the first two DAF 600 cars manufactured were awarded to the first Dutch woman to be a mayor, Truus Smulders-Beliën, and the chair of the Dutch automobile club.

The 600 was the first production car, after the 1920s Clyno, to have a continuously variable transmission (CVT) system - the innovative DAF Variomatic.

It is the only car ever produced which went faster by the simple expedient of gently and gradually releasing the accelerator once top speed had been reached – this increased manifold vacuum which helped the variable pulleys shift to an even higher ratio so even though the engine speed stays the same, the transmission increases the car's speed, in the case of the DAF 600, from 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) to nearly 70 mph (110 km/h) given enough time and level road.

The Variomatic also permitted increased engine braking by operating a switch on the dashboard which reversed the action of the vacuum on the pulley's diaphragm, seeking a lower ratio with increased manifold vacuum.