Visual History of the Mercedes-Benz G-wagen: From Brute to Bourgeois (2024)

Mercedes-Benz built a custom 230G for the pope’s visit to Germany in 1980. It turned out to be probably the most recognizable Popemobile in history, featuring a special air-conditioned plastic cupola (later bulletproof, after an attempted assassination) with an intercom to reach the driver. That driver has said that the pope was always asking him to slow down so that he might shake the hands of the pilgrims. Good advice, as they’d already been ticketed for driving in a pedestrian zone!

Just a few years into its existence, the G-wagen earned major respect for itself as an off-road racer when Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur took an overall victory in the 1983 Paris–Dakar Rally. The duo piloted a 280GE modified with a short chassis, a fuel-injected version of its 2.8-liter inline-six engine boosted to 220 horsepower, and an aerodynamically optimized body with aluminum components to help keep the vehicle weight low.

Since its inception, the Geländewagen has been pressed into military service, and today G-wagens both new and old are on duty in dozens of armed forces worldwide. Despite the new model’s arrival for 2019, the original will continue to be produced through 2025 as a support vehicle for NATO. Military G-wagens are derived from three standard variants: basic light utility (for carrying passengers and cargo), command and reconnaissance models (with a rotating gun mount in the center of the roof), and a military police version. From patrolling to people carrying to medical transport to combat, the G-class has been everywhere and done just about everything. (Pictured above is a decommissioned Gulf War 280GE that we took on a Cold War road trip.)

The Peugeot P4 was a military vehicle produced under license from Mercedes-Benz for the French army. It can best be thought of as a stripped-down version of Benz’s already stripped-down military G-class, which is to say it was a little light on luxury. It had just one locking differential (on the rear axle), and its doors and roof were made from canvas. The plastic windows couldn’t be opened, either. The whole idea was to keep the truck’s weight down so that it could be air-dropped by helicopter. And if you thought you’d read the bad news, the P4 also used a Peugeot engine and transmission. Still, some 13,500 of the beasts were built. Contrary to popular belief, there was a civilian version—but it’s probably not the rare collectible you’re looking for.

A man named Gunther Holtorf left his job in 1988 and bought a 300GD with the intent of driving it around Africa. What began as an 18-month journey turned into something much more. Gunther and his wife, Christine, drove their trusty G—nicknamed Otto—almost literally around the world, racking up some 557,000 miles. Taking more than 26 years, they traversed 215 countries, autonomous areas, and territories, making their way into places like North Korea and Belarus. Holtorf changed the oil every 5000 kilometers (3100 miles) and did preventive maintenance to keep the 88-hp diesel engine running like a top throughout. It never required a rebuild. In 2014, Otto “came home” to Stuttgart to take up residence in the Mercedes-Benz museum.

First shown at the Frankfurt auto show in 1989, the redesigned G-class brought more luxury to the game, supporting growing demand among the well heeled for the stoic off-roader. Dubbed the W463 internally, it featured a revised interior with wood trim, a redesigned rear bench seat, and upscale interior paneling. A new 170-hp engine mated to standard four-wheel drive and three electronically locking differentials made the new 300GE more comfortable off-road as well as quicker on pavement. The earlier W460 model continued to be produced as a stripped-down variant.

Never offered in the United States, the G-class cabriolet garnered a cult following that continues today, well after its having been discontinued in 2013. In short-wheelbase trim, the lopped top makes the cabriolet look like the sort of family car you build with a Lego set rather than anything capable of serious off-road feats. Unfamiliar as it might appear to Americans, the cabriolet was offered elsewhere since the G’s launch in 1979. In 1997, a powered electropneumatic softtop replaced the manual-folding top.

Believe it or not, the G-class wasn’t officially offered for sale in the United States until 2002, when it arrived as a 2003 model. Gray-market importers handled stateside demand until 1987, when a lobbying effort made the importation of gray-market cars illegal. Still, high demand meant that legally federalized imports from a company called Europa G-Wagen could fetch up to $135,000 ($160,000 for the Neiman Marcus version). By taking the risk and sinking big money into federalizing the G, Europa proved that the demand existed but cemented its own demise—authorized dealers wanted a piece, and Mercedes-Benz USA would soon start importing through dealer channels. Europa’s fate wasn’t as bad as it could have been; the outfit still exists, importing rare and rest-of-world G-wagens.

When Mercedes-Benz did start officially importing the G in 2002, the SUV arrived stateside with two naturally aspirated V-8 offerings. The lower-output version, the G500, had 292 horsepower, while the G55 AMG boasted a full 349 ponies. Rougher-riding than its luxurious competition—even within the brand, which by then offered the ML-series—the G nevertheless sold like hot strudels due to its ability to make the richest of the rich appear rugged.

The G55 name continued on unchanged when AMG stuffed its supercharged 5.5-liter V-8 under the G’s hood in 2004. The move breathed new life into the heavy SUV, which now bristled with 469 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. The supercharged engine would be upgraded to pump out 500 horsepower just two years later, when the W463 received a number of styling updates including HID headlights and new paint finishes. This second-generation G55 marked the beginning of an esteemed line of high-horsepower, semi-scary G-class models.

In 2006, Mercedes-Benz imagined a full-size SUV that would bring the company into the 21st century, offering seating for seven and modern safety and efficiency. Thing was, a GL-class buyer does not a G-wagen buyer make. Demand for the G-class continued to soar, and Mercedes-Benz decided to keep it alive. Mercedes continued to make improvements to the styling and interior. In 2008, the non-AMG G-wagen was offered with a new 5.5-liter V-8, prompting a name change in the U.S. to G550.

Right off the showroom floor, AMG’s highly profitable G variants make up around 50 percent of G-class sales. In the same period when the stout truck was locking down its role as a must-have luxury item across the world, a barrage of tuners began to offer ways for the nouveau riche to turn up the boost and tack on the plastic. Brands like Brabus, Carlsson, Lorinser, and RENNtech have all stepped up for club night, along with myriad lesser-knowns. Of particular note is the $830,000 Brabus 900, which can catapult to 62 mph in just 3.9 seconds. The 900 in the name refers to the metric horsepower of its V-12, not the number of aero bulges screwed on. But who’s really keeping track, anyhow?

We’re not exactly sure what movies the engineers are watching over at the G division, but we’d love to get our hands on the playlist. In a fog of surrealism, Mercedes-Benz decided to seriously produce the G63 AMG 6x6, which took things up just a tad, lifting the G-class to achieve 18.1 inches of ground clearance and fitting a couple more locking differentials for a total of five—oh, and adding another driven axle. All six 37-inch tires are supported by portal axles, so it can pretty much go right over any problem people you may encounter. A twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V-8 pumps out 544 horsepower, enough to support the truck’s curb weight of 8,500 pounds. The most head-scratching aspect of the 6x6 has to be AMG’s not offering it with the G65’s heavier, more expensive twin-turbo V-12. Because more, after all.

You’ll be loved or hated—but nothing in between—driving the G550 4x4 Squared, but there isn’t a person alive who won’t break his or her neck stealing a glance at it. Bigger than life, it’s got serious off-road chops, with portal axles from the 6x6 and an astonishing 17.2 inches of ground clearance. Huge fender flares support a track width that is 10 inches wider than a regular G’s, while double shock absorbers at each corner actually make for a better ride, too. But let’s be serious, you’re not spending the $228,000 for the ride quality, are you?

As a send-off for the original G-class, Mercedes created the Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet. With only 99 units to be produced—priced at more than $780,000 at current exchange rates—the final truck spoke loudly to the reassignment of the G’s mission statement over the years. What started as a no-frills, 71-hp stick-shift military go-getter had morphed into a glamorous thing available with a twin-turbocharged 621-hp AMG V-12, portal axles aimed as much at style as off-road capability, quad-zone climate control, and “first class” rear seats from the Maybach S-class—and an open roof, of course.