Mercedes G-Wagon comes in many derivatives out of two are available in India- G350d and G63 AMG
Forty years ago, during the peak of the Cold War, Mercedes Benz brought in a capable 4×4 SUV in the form of the G-Wagon. In production since 1979, the G-Class is one of the most sought-after luxury SUVs across the globe due to its premium offering from a brand like Mercedes and its exceptional off-roading prowess.
Now, the German luxury carmaker is in a celebratory mood since the iconic G-Wagon has reached an important production milestone of 4 lakh. Magna Steyr which contractually manufactures Mercedes cars has announced that it has assembled 4,00,000th unit of the boxy SUV at its plant in Graz, Austria.
Earlier, the model completed its 3 lakh production units at the same factory back in July 2017. For reference, G-Wagon is the anglicized acronym for the Geländewagen which in German means cross-country or ‘overland wagon’. The celebratory model in question is a 400d variant that is headed to an owner in Rhineland, Germany whose garage currently houses 20 such units of the luxury off-roader.
Despite a hefty price tag, the G-Wagon has been raking in good numbers for the German marque due to its premium features, strong performance on and off-road and reliability of German engineering. The current generation G-Wagon has been in production since May 2018. Take a look at the Mercedes G Class models on sale since launch in 1979.
G-Wagon offered in India
In India, G-Wagon is offered in two variants- G350d and G63 AMG at respective price of Rs 1.55 crore and Rs 2.31 crore (ex-showroom, India). The former is available with a 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine which kicks out 282 bhp at 1200-3200 rpm and 600Nm of peak torque at 2500-3500 rpm.
While the latter is offered with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol unit which kicks out a massive 569 bhp at 6000 rpm and a peak torque of 850Nm at 2000-5000 rpm. Both units come paired with a 9-speed automatic gearbox as standard. A 4×4 drivetrain with a low range gearbox is offered as standard.
Electrified G-Wagon
Mercedes recently unveiled a prototype of EQC 4×4 Squared which is an ultra-rugged utilitarian version of EQC 400 Electric SUV which went on sale in India a couple of months ago. The EQC 4×4² Squared is seen as a potential inspiration to an electrified version of G-Wagon.
A while ago, Mercedes even produced a limited-run model of G500 4×4 Squared. It is also being said that the German carmaker is currently developing a new generation G-Class 4×4 Squared which will be based on V-8-powered G550.
