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EXCLUSIVE: Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen to Receive MY 2011 Facelift

After over 31 years of continuous production, the G-Klasse off-roader has become the epitome of "old-school" in the land of four-wheeled cult vehicles. How much more retro can you get other than offering about 97.84% of the original vehicle instead of just reinterpret design cues? Well, so it happens that every hero, on four wheels or not, needs an overhaul every now and then.

We have recently got our hands on some inside information from Graz, Austria, where all the G-Klasse variants are being hand-assembled since 1979. Apparently, the G-Wagen will receive yet another facelift (the third in four years) beginning with the month of September 2010.

Most likely, the facelifted G will be presented in Autumn, at the Paris Auto Show, which the autoevolution team will of course attend. A major novelty will be the addition of Euro 5 emission standards on all of its European engines, while the interior will again be overhauled to include some of the latest technology available on cars like the W212 E-Klasse.

The overall "Bauhaus" design will naturally remain largely the same, with just a few almost invisible "nip and tucks" and a new collection of alloy rims for every model version.

The AMG version will be the last Mercedes-Benz to retain the torquey 5.4-liter supercharged V8, with the "55" moniker finally being replaced by "63" somewhere in 2012. Even though the new AMG will be named G 63, under the hood will most likely be a version of the newly-launched 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8, offering between 544 and 571 horsepower.

As far as new engines are concerned, the venerable 5.5 liter normally-aspirated V8 from the G 500 will be replaced with the newly-developed direct injection V8 with twin-turbochargers, increasing both power and torque while decreasing the medium fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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