It’s hard to believe that the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen has been with us for 35 years. In an era when Mercedes styling has become more daring than ever, this boxy truck has defied trends and continues to offer unmatched levels of off-road prowess with the latest luxuries. Once Mercedes-Benz started officially importing this model to the US, however, the G-wagen became a bit soft around the edges, losing a bit of that simple ruggedness that endeared it to military and rescue services the world over. This earlier, imported 280GE for sale in California, however, is set up for the more hardcore enthusiast, looking quite purposeful in black with large, slatted roof rack. Equipped with a higher horsepower, Euro spec M110 inline-6, it has been certified as 50 state legal.
Tag: G-wagen
While the Unimog Doka I wrote up a few days back is truly a vehicle I desire, I can admit that it’s probably not the most practical vehicle in the world. Navigating the ultimate Mercedes-Benz off-roader around local roads would likely be fun at first, but I can envision it ultimately being a headache. I recently watched a clip of Jeremy Clarkson rolling around England in a Hummer H1, and I imagine the Unimog would be similar. While it’s not exactly as tight as Cambridge, England cart paths around here in New England, nor is it like Texas. What makes more sense for a rugged, go anywhere, impossible to kill commuter? Well, we’re back to a G-Wagen, of course!
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300GD on eBay
1 CommentI’m always interested in old-school G-wagens that kick the sparkly stuff in the faces of the people that see them as accessories similar to those watches with 4-inch faces, or 30 lbs of platinum tennis bracelets. This almost 30-year old green example is in fantastic shape from less than 60k miles, but it eschews the standard glitz and chrome for a great green and flat black exterior. The extra kick to the 1%’s groin is instead of “V8 Biturbo” on the side, it says “Schnitzel.” Yep. Be careful when you sit in any of the NINE seats, because there’s a strong chance you’ll get some serious awesome rubbed off on you.
Click for details: 1986 Mercedes-Benz 250GD on eBay
2 CommentsI’ve alluded to my annoyance at the ubiquity of the AMG Geländewagens around Silicon Valley, as growing up there was a mystique to insane breathed-on monster SUVs. The German marques have seemed to erase all mystique in their performance brands by expanding them to every model and selling as many as possible. Today’s G-Wagen would turn some heads and probably elicit some envy from G55 owners, intrigued by this short wheelbase convertible that will seem to the rich but ignorant to be a very expensive and unique car when it was in fact a more base version in other parts of the world. Living in Canada but with a US title, this would be an extremely capable off-roader with diesel efficiency and Jeep-like convertibility. The importation and rarity doesn’t make it cheap though, with an asking price that could easily get you a very nice, newer G55.
Click for more details: 1997 Mercedes-Benz G300 CDI on eBay
7 CommentsThe 1990s was a time of transition at Mercedes-Benz. Model nomenclature evolved from numbers at the beginning of each model to a letter, Porsche was commissioned for a super sedan in the form of the 500E/E500 and AMG, the engineering firm responsible for a lot of Mercedes-Benz motorsport success and performance oriented street vehicles became a subsidiary under the Three Pointed Star umbrella. Their first official vehicle was the W202 based C36, a compact sports sedan intended to battle for enthusiasts’ wallets right in BMW’s Motorsport backyard. Right before the C36 appeared, an AMG oddity appeared, something that would grab the attention of the burgeoning SUV market: the G36 AMG.
This pumped Geländewagen appeared some years before Mercedes-Benz would flood the US market with G500s, G550s and AMG tuned examples that have become so popular with the rich and famous. With a breathed on 3.6 liter inline-6 under the hood, this G-wagen would give off-roaders a bit more juice when tackling those steep hills with this truck’s renowned three locking differentials.