G-Wagen Heritage
Rescued from a planned 2005 run-out, production of the G-Wagen has been extended to 2010. Originating from proposals for a military vehicle in the early 1970s by the Shah of Iran, a major Daimler-Benz shareholder, production of the G-Class began in 1979 with the 460 Series models. Engines ranging from 72 to 150 brake horsepower were available. The transmission was a four-speed manual with selectable 4x4. Low-range and optional axle diff locks could be engaged and disengaged on the fly. Synchronized range change was unprecedented then and is still rare today.
Assembled in a special facility in Graz, Austria, with engines, driveline, and steering components coming from Stuttgart, the G-Wagen was marketed (under the Puch marque) in a few countries but elsewhere as a Mercedes. A CKD version was produced by Peugeot in France as the military P4 using a 2.0-liter Peugeot engine, which is still in service. The 1981 upgrade included the first automatic transmission. In 1983, G-Wagens took first and third place in the Paris-Dakar rally, and in 1985 diff locks became standard.
In 1989, the current Model 463 with permanent four-wheel drive, bigger engines, and three electrically selected diff locks was introduced and, with a plush interior, joined Range Rover at the luxury end of the market. On a separate evolutionary path, the 461, which might be termed the civil engineer's model, appeared in 1992, a direct successor to the original 460, with selectable 4x4.
The 100,000th G-Wagen rolled off the line at Graz in 1992, and a year later the first V-8 G500 5.0-liter engine was installed. The 175,000 production mark was passed in mid-2004, and the vehicle is currently available in Europe, Asia, Australia and, as the G500 and G55 AMG super-performance luxury models, in the U.S., currently priced at around $81,000 to $105,000. A small batch of these in RHD short-wheelbase form are being exported to the U.K. to sell for over #100,000.
Tom Sheppard is the author of "Four-by-Four Driving." He gained the Royal Geographical Society's Ness Award in 1976 for leading the first lateral coast-to-coast crossing of the Sahara.