Mercedes Dressed Up Its Fancy New G-Class As A 1980s Model And It Looks Great

It took 44 years, but Mercedes-Benz has officially made half a million G-Class off-roaders. Well, Austrian car supply Magna’s actually been making them, but let’s not get too bogged down in who assembles what. The point is, the 500,000th G-Class rolled off the line in Austria and Mercedes is throwing it back to 1986 to celebrate. While retro one-offs can often come off as kitschy and insincere, I reckon this half-millionth G-Class actually works great.

Obviously, the olive paint and black nose are the first two things you’ll notice. Not only is Agave Green a great color, it conjures up the utilitarian background of the Gelandewagen from before it was a hidden hills status symbol of leather and chrome. That blacked-out front end is also a throwback, although a rather successful one. It can’t hide the more contoured front end of the current G-Class, but it can at least attempt to obscure a little bit of detail.

A more subtle change is backdating the fender-top indicator lenses to amber from the clear ones you see on the stock G-Class above, a nice touch that keeps with the fashion of the 1980s. Since most Mercedes-Benz products didn’t receive clear indicator lenses until the mid-’90s or so, these tinted lenses are a thoughtful backdating. Speaking of backdating, the hard spare tire cover has been ditched in favor of a soft cover like the ones you’d so often see in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. While not as protective as a hard cover, it should be easier to remove and store. Oh, and speaking of things around the back, the rear door gets an old-school Mercedes-Benz wordmark reminiscent of old valve covers. Nice.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the headlight grilles and chunky roof rack are special items unique to this G-Class, but they’re actually borrowed from the Professional Line model. This Euro-spec version pictured below isn’t a stripped-down commercial-grade G-Class but rather an appearance package meant to add a certain rugged style to Mercedes’ iconic SUV. Mind you, these split-five-spoke wheels aren’t part of the Professional Line, but are instead another special nod to the past. Call me old-fashioned, but it’s refreshing to see silver wheels on a car instead of black or diamond-cut designs. Wheels should be celebrated rather than hidden deep within the dark burrows of wheel wells.

Mercedes hasn’t released any interior pictures of this special half-millionth G-Wagen, but the cabin’s said to feature chequered fabric which would look fabulous in any new G-Class. Let’s hope that goes on the options list for Mercedes’ G Manufaktur in-house customization program.

Making this project a bit more impressive is how little can actually be bolted-on and backdated to the 1986 280 GE it draws inspiration from. That yuppie-era model featured the chassis code W460, and it looked noticeably different from its W463 and W461 successors thanks to a different front end that you can see in the picture above. The W463 soldiered on from 1990 to 2018 in first-generation form, but was replaced five years ago by the thoroughly-redesigned second-generation W463 G-Class seen in Mercedes showrooms today. Sure, it may share the same chassis code as its older brother, but only three pieces carried over – the headlamp washers, the exterior door handles, and the spare tire cover.

While this G-Wagen looks old, it will still drive like a relatively modern vehicle with independent front suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, modern sound deadening, and significantly improved chassis rigidity over its predecessors. Unfortunately, it’s a one-off, which means its visual package is all just a marketing stunt. That’s a shame, as the high-buck overlanding craze means there’s some market for a more rugged-looking G-Class, and high-profile tires should ride marvelously over decaying North American infrastructure. Mercedes, if you’re listening, make this a package people can buy.

(Photo credits: Mercedes-Benz)

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