From army hero to civilian icon: Mercedes-Benz G-Class turns 45

The story of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class becoming one of the most iconic vehicles on-sale today is well-known.

Commissioned as a light-duty military vehicle, the G-Class, originally called Geländewagen – which translates as “cross-country vehicle”- became somewhat of a costly purchase despite its promised off-road capability.

Hand-built by Magna Steyr at its Graz plant in Austria, an eventual decision by then Mercedes-Benz parent company, Daimler Benz, led to the Geländewagen being adapted for civilian use as a means of offsetting some of the likely losses from the initial poor military uptake.

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Clothed in rudimentary civilian gear as an off-road workhorse, the Geländewagen, or G-Wagen/G-Wagon as it eventually became known, debuted in 1979 as either a short wheelbase three-door or a three-and-five-door long wheelbase SUV with little in the way of luxury.

Adapted over time similar to its arch rival, the Range Rover, as luxury SUVs became more in demand, an extensive overhaul in 1990 opened a new chapter for a vehicle that soon became known as the “S-Class of SUVs”.

Ahead of the latest G-Class’ arrival early next year, The Citizen looks back on how 45 years transformed Benz’s army hero into a cult civilian icon.

First Generation: W460 (1979-1990)

Similar to the Range Rover that predated it by nine years, the original, internally named W460 G-Wagen, offered little in the way of serious opulence.

What it, however, lacked in spec was made-up for in off-road prowess by a low range transfer case, permanent four-wheel-drive, three locking differentials and a ground clearance of 210 mm.

Mounted on a body-on-frame chassis, the move to civilian usage spawned a wider range of bodystyles, namely a two-door cabriolet, a two-door chassis cab bakkie and also a two-door panel modelled on the short or long wheelbase three-door.

Sold under licence to the French military as the rebadged Peugeot P4 and the Puch G in certain European markets – Puch or Steyr-Daimler-Puch having been the name Magna Steyr went under at the time – the W460 didn’t go under the Geländewagen name, but rather by the G symbol being added after the engine displacement.

As such, the nameplate 230 GE denoted a 2.3-litre engine with the E standing for the German for fuel injection, while 300 GD represented a 3.0-litre diesel engine.

Reported to have sold 50 000 units by 1986, the W460’s engine line-up consisted of 2.3-litre four-cylinder carburetted and fuel injected petrol engines, a fuel injected 2.8-litre straight-six petrol and three normally aspirated diesels; a four-cylinder 2.4, a five-cylinder 2.5 and a 3.0-litre five-cylinder.

With the advent of the Dakar Rally in 1979, the G soon became a frequent entrant with its sole victory coming in 1983 at the hands of former Formula 1 driver and multiple 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx, and co-driver, Claude Brasseur.

Generation Two: The split

W461: 1992-2022

W463: 1990-2018

Making its debut in 1990, the second generation G-Class underwent a model split despite appearing similar to the W460.

Arriving first, the internally named W463 would serve as the newly repositioned luxury derivative, while the W461 would be geared towards so-called professional usage for militaries and buyers wanting greater off-road focus than comfort amenities.

While both would continue to offer the W460’s off-road hardware, the W463 would emerge as the game-changing generation.

Renamed G-Class following Mercedes-Benz’s nameplate restructuring in 1994 that gave rise to C-Class, E-Class and S-Class, the W463 offered a more upmarket interior, more features and the first inclusion of a V8 engine as a result of sales commencing in North America.

Whereas the W461 carried over the same bodystyles as the W460, the W463’s market switch saw it only offer long or short-wheelbase configurations, with the soft-top cabriolet based on the latter also remaining.

The last generation to offer a manual gearbox and four-and-five-cylinder engines, but the first with a turbocharged diesel engine, the third of the W463’s eventual 11 updates and model tweaks in 1999 saw the availability of the first ever mass produced AMG variant after a slew of low-volume examples with six or eight-cylinders.

Positioned above the already established G500, the G55 AMG initially used the normally aspirated M 113 5.4-litre V8, which in 2002, had been supercharged to lift power from 260 kW to 350 kW, or as much as 373 kW by the time of its discontinuation in 2012.

Replaced the bigger 5.5-litre mill that spawned the G63 AMG in 2012, the W463 also gave rise to the 463kW/1 000Nm 6.0-litre bi-turbo V12-powered G65 AMG, the ultra-luxurious G 650 Landaulet and the G 500 4×4² which, like, the Landaulet, featured portal axles that resulted in a ground clearance of 410 mm.

Its lifecycle prolonged as a result of demand and criticism at Mercedes-Benz for wanting to discontinue the G-Class entirely by 2005 as a way of preventing overlapping with the GL – now called GLS – the final revision brought a change of engine for the G63 – the bi-turbo 4.0-litre V8 – and the outlandish six-wheel-drive AMG G63 6×6.

Discontinued in 2018, four years before the W461, the W463 would solidify the G-Class as an icon and status symbol.

Generation Three: New but not?

W463 ‘Mk II’: 2018-2024

Debuting in 2018, the third generation G-Class differed largely cosmetically from its predecessor, which resulted in being called a facelift as Mercedes-Benz even opted to keep the W463 internal moniker.

Longer and wider than its predecessor, the W463 “Mk II” utilised new front and rear suspension, a body made largely out of aluminium and high-strength steel that reduced its weight by 170 kg, six more millimetres of more ground clearance for a total of 241 mm, and an S-Class inspired interior complete with the then new Comand infotainment system.

No longer fitted with a manual gearbox – this having been replaced by a new column-shift mounted lever for the nine-speed 9G Tronic automatic – the “new” W463 heralded a more streamlined range of engines, plus the return of a four-cylinder engine in the Chinese market exclusive 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol G350.

For other markets though, buyers had the option of the new 2.9-litre straight-six turbodiesel that replaced the previous 3.0-litre V6, and the AMG developed 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 that had been passed down from the AMG G63 in detuned form to the “regular” G500.

The G-Class with the shortest production run of only six years, the second generation W463 again introduced a portal axe “squared” version, albeit this time of the AMG G63 that produced an unchanged 430kW/850Nm.

As a way of celebrating its 40^th anniversary in 2019, a series of Stronger Than Time editions debuted, offered only on the G400d in South Africa, with the final encore being the Grand Edition that debuted in 2023 based on the AMG G63.

Two-thousand and twenty-three also marked a significant milestone in the production of the 500 000th G-Class, a five-door W461, at the Graz plant.

Generation Four, again in twos

Heralding a new start, the fourth generation G-Class made its world debut in March this year, again split over two different models.

Although described, once again, as a facelifted W463, official Mercedes-Benz internal naming classifies it as the W465 whereas the “stripped-out” professional version and replacement for the W461, carries the W464 designation.

Differentiated from the W463 by a new grille, bumpers, LED headlights and relocation of the reverse camera from the spare wheel cover to the above the numberplate, the W465 also receives a new keyless entry system, an augmented reality Head-Up Display and a first-time dual display in which Benz’s MBUX software features within the 12.3-inch infotainment system.

While still fitted with low range and three locking differentials, the W465 gets a G-Class first adaptive air suspension system, which, on the AMG G63, additionally involves the anti-roll bars being replaced by adaptive shock absorbers.

Still with the same 241 mm of ground clearance as the W463, the W465 benefits from a transparent bonnet view camera and three new off-road settings on non-AMG models; Sand, Trail and Rock.

Following the same configuration as its predecessor, the W465 remains a five-door only model, with the W464 being reduced to a diesel-only five-door or two-door chassis cab bakkie.

In a further reduction, motivation comes from three power sources. On the combustion side, this consists of two 48-volt mild-hybrid units; the 3.0-litre straight-six turbodiesel that produces 270kW/750Nm in the G450d, and the unchanged 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 that makes 430kW/850Nm in the AMG G63 – now the ole petrol-engine G-Class available.

Initially set to have been called EGQ after the brand’s EQ division soon to be shut down, the third option comes in the shape of the first all-electric G-Class called the G580 by EQ Technology.

The heaviest non-AMG G-Class ever made, the G580 is also the torquiest ever made with outputs of 432kW/1 164Nm from its quad electric motors powered by a 116-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Lacking the three diff-locks as a result of the electric hardware, the G580 has a reported range of 473 km and introduces an intricate function called G Turn that allows for a complete 360-degree tank-style turn when off-roading.

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