The Immortal Mercedes-Benz G: Most Cars Made Still Live!

The legendary German off-road from the late seventies is one of the most durable cars on the market. Since then, only a minority of the more than half a million cars produced have been scrapped.

Sustainability is one of the most popular mantras of today. I myself am not a fan of so-called fast fashion or anything similar that I have to throw away shortly after purchase. Although cars have a much longer lifespan than a 90-crown t-shirt with a Made in Bangladesh label, some are already ripe for depreciation after 20 years of service. And then there are the perennials that last for decades.

One of them is the Mercedes-Benz G. This off-road icon has been produced for civilian purposes since 1979 (the first model is called the W460, the current generation is the W463). It was originally created as a military special for the Iranian army. However, after the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of Shah Reza Pahlavi, the contract was cancelled, but the “Gecko” was eventually used by the armed forces all over the world. For the first time in Argentina in 1981.

Last April, the car celebrated 500,000 units produced. In the Czech Republic, the G class is one of the most popular Mercedes. Last year, 320 examples were registered here, most of which were in the most powerful version of the G 63 from AMG with a 4.0 V8 engine with 430 kilowatts and a current price from CZK 5,052,960.

As part of the presentation of the premiere electric variant of the G 580 EQ (from CZK 3,626,370) the week before last, Michael Schiebe, head of AMG and the G and Maybach model lines, boasted that 80% of all produced Mercedes Gs are still being driven. Theoretically, you can meet over 400,000 examples of different ages on the roads, including twelve-cylinder models that ended with the last generation. The Porsche 911 with an even longer history is also a similar holder. About 70 percent of the cars produced by the sports legend from 1963 are still in use.

In the case of the Mercedes G, Schiebe talked about the future of the eight-cylinder. It is said that it will remain in the menu as long as customers want it. In addition, the electric model will help him a lot with its zero emissions.

However, as part of the modernization from March this year, the eight-cylinder engine is reserved for the AMG G 63 version just mentioned. The conventional G 500 received a three-liter inline six-cylinder, equipped with a classic turbocharger and an electric compressor with an output of 330 kilowatts. You will pay CZK 3,531,990 for this variant on the Czech market