Originally engineered for military use, we’ve always found the upscale Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV to be something of an acquired taste. Somehow being belligerently bold and sublimely sedate at the same time, the powerful and eminently off-road capable SUV has
always struck us as looking like the postal delivery vehicle for some exclusive gated community.
Though U.S. sales were not initially in the company’s plans, Mercedes has decided to enliven the G-Class line for…we’re not sure who, exactly…with the outrageous G550 4×4² beginning this fall. The “squared” part of the name doesn’t refer to its shape, which remains entirely angular, but to its innovative drivetrain that’s designed to afford uncanny off-road abilities. That is, for adventurous owners who choose to subject a vehicle that will likely be priced around or in excess of $200,000 to the rigors of the least hospitable terrain imaginable.
Sadly, this is not the beyond-reason AMG G63 6×6 we first reported on back in 2013 that rides on three axles and sports a small pickup bed behind the passenger compartment – sort of like the illicit six-wheeled love child of an old Hummer H1 and a Chevrolet Avalanche. (That version was originally developed for the Australian army, but eventually found its way into M-B showrooms abroad, and into the fleets of the fabulously wealthy, with some probably used in the protection of said owners against kidnappers, assassins and outright insurrection.)
We suspect few owners will actually hightail the hot new Gelaendewagen, as it’s known in Germany, deep into the wilderness, but its exclusivity among a sea of Teslas and S-Classes in a crowded country club parking lot is all but assured. Especially if it’s specified in the eccentric electric yellow exterior treatment Mercedes is showing it in press photos. Most G-Wagons we’ve ever seen were cast in assorted hues of gray or black.
FORBES
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