CarBrandLogos archive · Mercedes-Benz · 1979

Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz G-Class

Built for the Shah's army in 1979 and still made by hand in Graz.

Photo: MrWalkr · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Mercedes-Benz history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The G-Class exists because the Shah of Iran, then a substantial shareholder in Daimler-Benz, wanted a military vehicle. Development started in the early 1970s as a joint project with Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Austria, aimed at armed forces and at NATO tenders. The Iranian revolution removed the original customer before production began, and the vehicle went on sale in 1979 anyway — sold as the Mercedes G-Wagen in most markets and as the Puch G in Austria and parts of Europe.

Circulation fh000013 · David Monniaux · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

The engineering was deliberately conservative and remains so: a ladder frame, live axles, and three fully locking differentials — front, centre and rear — which is a specification almost no rival has ever offered as standard. Approach and departure angles were dictated by the military brief, and the flat panels, exposed hinges and separate indicator pods were dictated by ease of repair in the field.

Bundeswehr MB Wolf · Darkone · CC BY-SA 2.5

In production

Every one has been built at Magna Steyr in Graz, largely by hand, and it has served in a remarkable range of roles: as an armoured personnel carrier for a dozen armies, as the Vatican's Popemobile, as a fire tender and ambulance. Somewhere in the 1990s it acquired a second life as a luxury vehicle, particularly in the United States and the Gulf, and by the 2000s AMG versions with large V8s were outselling the utilitarian ones many times over.

Black G 55 AMG fr · Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 3.0

Legacy

Mercedes replaced it in 2018 with the W464, an entirely new vehicle that keeps the ladder frame and the three lockers but adopts independent front suspension and a modern interior. It was styled to be almost indistinguishable from the original, on the reasonable grounds that the shape is now the product. Deliberate details survive: the exposed door hinges, the grab handle for the passenger, and a door that still shuts with a rifle-bolt clunk. It is one of the longest-running vehicle lines in the industry, and one of very few whose luxury sales pay for its off-road capability rather than the other way round.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1979–present

Technical specification

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, in detail.

Production: 1979–present
Class: Military off-roader; Off-road vehicle; Luxury SUV; Pickup truck
Assembly: Austria: Graz (Magna Steyr) ; Algeria: Tiaret (BA6, BA9 G Class) ; Greece: Thessaloniki (Hellenic Vehicle Industry)
Manufacturer: Plain list; Daimler-Benz (1979–1998) ; DaimlerChrysler (1998–2007) ; Daimler AG (2007–2022) ; Mercedes-Benz Group (2022–present)

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