High and Mighty
The indomitable G-Wagen has been on the market for a remarkable 33 years – with no apparent end in sight
Article Graham Robson
Images Daimler Archives
The G-Wagen – its rationale and its long career – have fascinated me for decades, and just one occasion will tell you why. Two years ago, I flew to Stuttgart to pay a visit to AMG (The Star, Mar-Apr 2010, pp. 36-40), on a very snowy January morning. I worried about the capability of the company car that might pick me up at the airport: Could it deal with the weather conditions? I need not have troubled myself; it was a magnificently meaty 500-horsepower Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG Geländewagen that ignored the lashings of white stuff as you and I might shrug off a passing shower of summer rain. If I ever needed to be converted, that did the trick.
It was only when I sat down to research this story that I realized the problem. The G-Wagen range has already been on the market for 33 years; G-Wagens have officially been exported to North America for nearly 20 years, and it seems to be unstoppable. Already there have been hundreds of derivatives, and many more must surely be on the way. Think of an engine that the company has used in its passenger cars, and it will almost certainly have found its way into the G-Wagen, too.
Not only is this car’s story fascinating, but complex and seemingly endless: It would be possible to fill a complete issue of The Star without mentioning every derivative ever made. In fact, to tell it all would make an ideal degree-standard examination challenge for anyone calling himself a Mercedes-Benz historian. Which I am not ... but I will bow to anyone who can tell it all without omitting anything important.
The tale started in 1972, according to accepted history, when Mercedes-Benz started working on a new four-wheel-drive development project with contract developer and manufacturer Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Graz, Austria (see sidebar). This vehicle was intended to be a versatile 4x4 vehicle, able to go anywhere, soak up unbelievable punishment, and last indefinitely. However, it seemed that there was no immediate rush to bring the vehicle to market, which precipitates the question of motivation.
Various body styles of early G-Wagens
Was the vehicle originally meant to be a contender for NATO military contracts where Jeep and various British, German, French and Italian 4 x4s all currently had their share of the business? Was it meant to position Daimler squarely up against the mighty Jeep Corporation in world markets? Was the fact that Britain’s startling new V-8-engined Range Rover had just gone on sale a mere coincidence?
Most intriguing of all, was the project started to satisfy the whim of the Shah of Iran, who in the 1970s was not only set on building the military might of his nation to formidable levels, but just happened to be a substantial stockholder in Daimler-Benz AG?
No matter. Once they had seen proposed mock-ups, Stuttgart’s top brass liked what they saw, and in 1973 serious development work began. It was not always easy to make progress on this project – especially because Stuttgart was nearly 400 miles from Graz – but S-D-P already had masses of 4x4 experience, and because the company had space to expand production at Graz, the Austrians were charged with building the new cars in quantity.
By 1979, when the original G460-type G-Wagen was finally launched (G is for Geländewagen, though the company could have used the term Geländefahrzeug, either of which roughly translates to “go-anywhere-cross-country car”), the Shah had left town and apparently took his money with him.
NATO countries were prepared to adopt the project for some uses, and the world’s 4x4 market was exploding. Although S-D-P would take entire responsibility for the development program for the new 4x4 from 1981 (with Mercedes-Benz continuing to supply engines, transmissions, and other mechanical components – and the Mercedes-Benz reputation and dealer network behind it), the G-Wagen was always sure to sell. The new SUV would be assembled by S-D-P at a new factory in Graz and Mercedes-Benz aimed to sell at least 10,000 vehicles every year. At that time, though, there were no official plans to retail these machines in North America.
Rugged running gear
In the beginning, two chassis lengths were available – 2,400mm (94.5 inches) and 2,850mm (112.2 inches) – along with several steel-paneled-body derivatives, a canvas-top three-seater, short SUV, long SUV, and panel van sharing a common style that was slab-sided and utilitarian. However, Range Rover had moved the goal posts so far since it entered the market in 1970, that every other 4x4 maker in the world already was struggling to stay in the game.
The first Popemobile was built in 1980
The technical novelties were all hidden away under the skin. Like the Jeep Wagoneer/Cherokee and Britain’s Range Rover, the G-Wagen was built around a sturdy ladder-style chassis frame, with box-section side members. S-D-P and Mercedes-Benz had clearly looked at the Range Rover’s suspension, for both front and rear axles of the G-Wagens were suspended on coil springs with telescopic shocks and very carefully positioned radius arms and Panhard rods, similar to the Range Rover. Front-wheel disc brakes, naturally, were part of the standard equipment.
G-WAGEN INTERIOR IN 1989
Even so, the engines and transmissions were the features of primary interest – for although originally there were four alternative drivetrains, over the years the list would be updated, extended, substituted and made “greener” as time passed. In the beginning, the 102-horsepower/2,307cc and 150-horsepower/2,746cc gasoline engines, and the 72-horsepower/2,399cc and 80-horsepower/2,998cc diesel engines were all lifted from the existing W123 passenger car range, the manual gearbox came from the company’s light trucks, and an optional 4-speed automatic came from the W123 Saloons.
Although the styling could be described as utilitarian and the interior functional rather than luxurious, this was certainly a versatile new range, with a lengthy options list. Unhappily, many people seem to have translated “versatile” as “compromised,” for at first it was difficult to see where the G-Wagen would sell – or could sell, for that matter. Although 10,000 G-Wagons could be built every year at Graz, annual sales rarely exceeded 6,000 in the 1980s, and the first milestone – the 100,000th vehicle – was not reached until the mid-1990.
Power – real power – in a G-Wagen by 2001 in the form of the 382-horsepower/5.5-litre V-8 engine of the G55 AMG
In the meantime, as far as the running gear was concerned, Mercedes-Benz had already begun the process of mix-and-match. Although the same basic style was retained from year to year – there was no interest in developing a new body style – a positive avalanche of engine changes were ushered in as the years passed, each of them identified by a different G-model number.
It would be insulting the intelligence of Star readers (and the gullibility of my editors) to pretend to list all of these. However, I have tried to define the ends of the range (and hope I have succeeded – though who knows what the company might have added between the writing of these words and of your reading them).
By the late 1990s, Mercedes-Benz had pushed the equipment and status of the G-Class up market, as seen in the interior of the original G500.
According to my review, the smallest gasoline engine of all was the 2.0-liter of the W201, which was fitted to G-Wagens in several European markets, while the largest was the mighty 603-horsepower/5,980cc V-12-engined G65 AMG. As to the use of diesel (which has been, of course, much more popular outside the United States), the least powerful was the original 72-horsepower/2.4-liter “four” of the early 1980s, the most powerful of all being the 250-horsepower/turbocharged 3.0-liter introduced in the G400 CDI in recent years.
Like almost everyone who drove a car like this – and I have sampled several over the years – I have rarely ventured off road and never attempted the sort of cross-country transits that separate the men from the boys. Even so, I spent many a happy hour window shopping (or catalog browsing) to determine which G-Wagen might just be right for me – always assuming that I hadn’t already fallen for a top-of-the-line Jeep or a Range Rover.
You’ll note that I haven’t mentioned Toyota, Mitsubishi or any other Japanese manufacturers. I’m not averse to Japanese brands, but somehow I just don’t believe that they fall into the same market category as a G-Wagen. Off-road capability, in other words, is one facet, but the way it is done – the equipment of the machine, and yes, the brand image of the car itself are also important. As the years passed, a G-Wagen could turn up at the country club or golf course, garnering raised eyebrows and positive though unspoken appraisal that spoke volumes. Cost, unhappily, accompanied this assessment, for there was no way that Mercedes-Benz was going to compete at the bargain-basement level of the Japanese.
Changes, upgrades, facelifts
All of which explains why Mercedes-Benz has spent so much time updating the G-Wagen over the years and, perhaps more critically, nudging it gently upmarket at every opportunity. What other car can you recall that started its career with gasoline engines producing just 102 horsepower, and currently runs with mighty V-8s producing six times that figure?
That evolution started soon after launch. From 1982, the entry-level gasoline engine became the fuel-injected 125-horsepower/2,299cc M102 power unit, and a 5-speed manual gearbox was standardized at the same time. Better, but not perfect, you might say – which explains why, for 1986, a “lifestyle” body option became available, this having a folding cabriolet-style roof. At the same time, style changes included optional polyurethane wheel arch extensions, optional wide alloy wheels, and standard exhaust catalyzers and differential locks. Soon a more powerful 94-horsepower/2.5-liter 5-cylinder diesel replaced the original diesel, and sales perked up once again.
But not enough, it seems, for somehow the combination of high prices and the same utilitarian style could not always make its market. Accordingly, for 1990, a major facelift was introduced in a package that – in Daimler model-speak – saw the original G460 give way to a much-revised G463. Here was a car that was meant to have more charisma, allied to major drivetrain changes and a completely new fascia/instrument/interior package.
Alloy wheels and wheel-arch extensions became standard, while the fascia looked like that of a current car rather than an upmarket version of a light van. Permanent 4-wheel drive became standard, as well as a lockable center differential and ABS anti-lock braking. Then there was the thoroughly modernized power train lineup, not only with a flagship 170-horsepower/2,962cc 6-cylinder gasoline engine, but with a 113-horsepower/2,996cc 6-cylinder diesel. Two years later, the engineers trumped that new diesel with the new 350GD turbo model in which the 3,499cc diesel “six” produced 140 horsepower and introduced turbocharging to the range.
Nor was that all, for in the early 1990s, the old-type 460-series utility range was finally replaced by the more car-like 461 range, which was more simply equipped than the 463 and lacked many of the toys in the more modern variety. In 1993, the 463 was then topped – but only temporarily, as it transpired – with the new 500GE model (a special, limited edition), which used an M117-style 240-horsepower/4,973cc V-8, the first such engine configuration featured in the G-Wagon.
By the 21st century, there were three basic G-Class body styles – the cabriolet and short- and longer-wheelbase wagons – with many variations available.
Since then, the story of the G-Wagen has been one of continuous evolution. Of course, engines have changed, equipment has been added, and features have become fashionable then faded from view. New-generation turbodiesel engines (very popular in Europe, if not in the United States), ventilated disc brakes, air-bag safety equipment, a 5-speed automatic transmission (later, a 7-speed in the 2010s), cruise control, and all the fashionable personal car toys eventually made their appearance. Still, annual sales rarely exceeded 6,000 cars, but this was apparently enough to keep the range profitable.
However, the basic structure – ladder chassis, steel body shells, beam axles front and rear, and a choice of wheelbase lengths – has not been changed for almost 35 years; the 2013 style is recognizably based on the original concept designed in 1979.
Officially, the G-Wagen series has been known as the “G-Class” since the mid-1990s, and at one time, they say, Mercedes-Benz intended the new, built-in-the-USA GL-Class to take over from the G-Class. But the company changed its mind after a great deal of public pressure. One day the model will be withdrawn, and when that happens – no question – I am going to miss it. But they say that won’t happen for at least the next few years.