The G-Class is at home all over the world in every terrain – both on and off-road. This year, the popular classic cross-country vehicle is celebrating its 40th birthday, and the Mercedes-Benz Museum is hosting an extensive special exhibition, 18 October 2019 to 19 April 2020. Eleven vehicles and countless further exhibits inspire with colourful stories all about the oldest model series of the brand. For example, the legendary 100 percent: overcoming a gradient of this enormous incline is amongst the outstanding off-road capabilities of the G. What this means can be tested by visitors of the exhibition themselves on a correspondingly steep ramp.
230 G “Popemobile”, 1980.
The “Popemobile” is perhaps the most famous G-Class. It was made in 1980 for John Paul II in order to protect the Pope from wind and rain on his visit to Germany. After the assassination attempt in 1981, the body received bullet-proof glazing. After this, the special version based on the Mercedes-Benz cross-country vehicle accompanied the Holy Father on many trips.
230 G Cabriolet of the Tramin voluntary fire service, 1982.
Right from their start in February 1979 the G-models were aimed at a broad customer base. Many aid organisations also chose the cross-country vehicle – such as the Tramin voluntary fire brigade in South Tyrol. There, the open-top model has been in use as a command vehicle since 1982 and also proves itself on impassable terrain.
280 GE “Paris–Dakar”, 1983.
Sporting successes inspire the image of the robust Mercedes-Benz cross-country vehicle. For example, this 280 GE won overall victory at the legendary Paris-Dakar Rally with Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur on 20 January 1983. The body was optimised in a wind tunnel and also made lighter than in the large-scale production thanks to several aluminium parts. There is a performance-enhanced six-cylinder engine working under the bonnet.
G 65 AMG Final Edition, 2017.
The G-Class and AMG are an ideal pairing, as the sales success of the powerful cross-country vehicles shows. The G 65 AMG with a twelve-cylinder engine and 1,000 Newton metres of torque is legendary. To mark the end of production there was an exclusively equipped “Final Edition”. Both outside and inside: everything of the highest quality. Go off-road in it? Not an option for most buyers. But it is good to know that it wouldn’t be a problem!
