Mercedes marks 500,000th G-Class with one-off
Mercedes' 4x4 icon hits half a million ahead of an electrified future
Though it can sometimes feel like hundreds of thousands of AMG G63s have been sold just in central London over the past few years, the G’s success has been somewhat of a longer burn. In production since 1979, the 500,000th G-Class has just been finished in Graz. Albeit javing produced the 400,000th one as recently as 2020. The big G - especially in the current W463 form, launched in 2018 - really is as popular as it seems.
To mark this momentous occasion, Mercedes has made itself a retro G-Class, a brand-new car made to look like something from 1979. Benz being Benz, it hasn’t done things by halves, either; when even the indicators have been made more orange (because that’s how things were back then) you sense this has been a labour of love beyond a usual G. It’s painted Agave Green, one of the first offered back in the late 70s, while additional details like the spare wheel cover, badge on the rear door and the five-spoke silver wheels are all nods to the past. Very stylish ones, too, it should be noted - nice just to see a G-Class that isn’t a black AMG on 22-inch wheels, really.
The interior has also been given a retro rework (apparently - there aren’t any pics), with what’s being called ‘chequered fabric typical of the time’ in place of leather. We’ll assume a kind of houndstooth effect. There are also ‘No. 500,000’ logos plus a few bits borrowed from the current customisation range of options. It’s all very smart, very modern Mercedes, to the extent that you wouldn’t be surprised if a limited run of models were made after this. There’s surely got to be a few more fans of this look out there.
Or perhaps it could be reserved for that electric G-Class, which Mercedes confirmed is plan to roll off the same production line (the combustion models will continue) in 2024. An old-school look with modern, electrified underpinnings would surely prove popular. As for the EV itself, Mercedes is promising new off-road standards thanks to four individually controlled motors. ‘Optimally prepared for the adventures of the future’, it reckons. Certainly, it would be a brave person to bet against thousands more G-Classes finding homes in the coming years, regardless of powertrain. Especially if they continue to look as good as this.
I passed a black/black/black G-Class a few days ago, the first I'd seen in a while, and I couldn't take my eyes off it - but not in a positive way, more like a child inappropriately gawping at someone in a wheelchair.
The current W463 model is an interesting contrast to the new Defender - Mercedes chose to faithfully transpose all the original styling features onto a brand new vehicle, whereas
I saw a new Defender in a pale green similar to the heritage pea green like shade the original Land Rover came in. It looked good to me.
A similar shade to one that featured in a 1981 CAR Magazine test:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/684...
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