Modern Classic: Mercedes-Benz G-Class

From left: The latest G-Class, the 1990s models and the original. Photos: Mercedes-Benz

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is our pick this week as it is a vehicle that is one of Daimler’s longest-running models in production at 42 years. 

Since it came onto the production line in 1979 in Graz, Austria, there were a total of 100,000 sales up to 2017 but 400,000 sales globally were recorded by December 2020. 

The problem has been demand exceeding supply, especially in Asia and the US, and this has led to long tailbacks amounting to years on the order books.

While it is officially called the G-Class it’s also known as the G-Wagen or Gelandewägen (“cross country vehicle”) but I prefer to call it the “G”.

The G-Wagen transformed into a “civilian” car in 1979 after the Shah of Iran, then a significant shareholder of Mercedes, commissioned one. Pope John Paul II got one in 1980 with a glass box attached (aka the Popemobile) and this is when the G started to get attention.

Pope John Paul II’s customised Mercedes G-Glass aka the Popemobile.

By 1981 it was gentrified with automatic transmission and air conditioning, and through the 1980’s it got progressively upgraded until 1990 when it was pushed further upmarket with a major redesign, including wood trim and anti-lock brakes.

The 1990s continued with up speccing including burr walnut trim and from 1994 it had a five-speed automatic transmission and cruise control.

Upgrades continued thick and fast, as the G Wagen got more expensive, but nothing could change the fact that it was an appalling drive, in much the way an original Land Rover Defender was. 

An updated version in the 1980s got an automatic transmission and wood trim.

Except the G was weaponised with progressively more demonic V8 petrol engines thanks to AMG, which culminated in the “G63” 5.5-litre “bi-turbo” as the 39-year chapter closed on the first series in 2018.

The second series was a total redesign. Only five main visual parts carried over from the previous model, including the push-button handles, cover for the rear-mounted spare tyre, sun visors, and the headlight washer nozzle. Yet the design looked oddly the same as the first series. This was an incredible feat Mercedes-AMG pulled off.

The boxy SUV with its unique body on frame construction is like no other vehicles in current production, with three locking differentials. 

Mercedes-Benz G-Class model series 463 from 2000.

In 2020, the G is still largely hand-built as it was at the start, and some employees from 1979 are still on the production line. When we say hand-built, it’s virtually all components including the engine and even the leather trim! 

Quite why the G-Wagen has become so coveted in the last decade confuses some. The answer is halfway between it being capable of surviving an apocalypse and it being very fashionable courtesy of plenty of notable LA celebs owners, such as the Kardashians.

The Mercedes-AMG G63 has a V8 5.5-litre bi-turbo petrol engine.

Most luxury car companies sporting a high-end SUV have not ignored this trend, but few have been able to truly stomp on the G-Wagen’s territory. 

Perhaps the best attacker, at least in name, is the new Defender. An icon but a completely different product before and now, the ‘Landie’ definitely evokes a similar emotional response.

And here’s where it gets complicated as I’m a lucky owner of both a current G63 and a new Defender. I see the murkiness as the new Defender is so damn good, at half the price of the G and a lot easier to get (relatively speaking, although waitlists are growing). 

However, the G is still one very special car. And treated with respect, not driven every day like a Defender, and appreciated for its luxurious finishes, crazy supercharged V8 engine, and hand-built status, the G still has a lot of purpose.

Mercedes-AMG will no doubt tinker with the 4-litre V8 supercharged engine before too long. The current G is certainly at “peak experience” and will only be watered down from here, but for emissions reasons probably a good thing. That’s what makes this start of the second series G very collectible in the long term. Time will tell!

A line-up G-Class models and variants at the press launch in 2018 in France.