Photo: carrohub / Instagram video screenshot
With its three locking differentials and huge amounts of power, the Mercedes-AMG G 63 is one of the most fearsome vehicles you could meet in a friendly competition of tug-of-war.
The AMG variety of the German SUV is indeed better known for other things than its off-roading abilities - looking pretty parked in front of the trendiest coffee house in town, for example - yet despite all the added glitz, there's no taking away the fact it remains at its heart a true G-Wagen.
The thing with tug-of-war, though, is that even though power does play a role, it's actually maintaining grip that probably matters the most. Lose traction, and all those hundreds of horsepower won't do anything other than spin the wheels aimlessly, especially if the surface is something as naturally slippery as barren ground covered in fallen leaves.
This is where the G 63's street tires become a problem, and the fact its opponent basically has a complete set of tractor tires doesn't help either. Except they're not really meant for tractors as they are tubeless ultra-low-pressure tires with soft walls and quite special tread - the kind that enables this vehicle to go through water at up to nearly 4 mph.
They also allow this weird Russian/Ukrainian vehicle called "the Sherp" to dig its big wheels into the ground and, thanks to the aggressive tread and big contact patch (low pressure, remember?), act like four anchors. The difference in power between the two vehicles is ridiculous (the utility vehicle has a Kubota 1.5-liter diesel engine developing just over 44 hp, which makes the G 63's twin-turbo V8 more than 14 times more powerful.
With the contest being a friendly one, the point wasn't to see which was better suited for the task but rather to have some fun. That's why, after the Sherp's initial pull forward - just to make it clear who would win in an actual duel - the two manage to find a balancing point that sends both vehicles into a strange bouncing state. Considering the Sherp's only damping comes from the air in its tires, anyone with the slightest concern for their spine would dread having to switch places with that driver.
The thing with tug-of-war, though, is that even though power does play a role, it's actually maintaining grip that probably matters the most. Lose traction, and all those hundreds of horsepower won't do anything other than spin the wheels aimlessly, especially if the surface is something as naturally slippery as barren ground covered in fallen leaves.
This is where the G 63's street tires become a problem, and the fact its opponent basically has a complete set of tractor tires doesn't help either. Except they're not really meant for tractors as they are tubeless ultra-low-pressure tires with soft walls and quite special tread - the kind that enables this vehicle to go through water at up to nearly 4 mph.
They also allow this weird Russian/Ukrainian vehicle called "the Sherp" to dig its big wheels into the ground and, thanks to the aggressive tread and big contact patch (low pressure, remember?), act like four anchors. The difference in power between the two vehicles is ridiculous (the utility vehicle has a Kubota 1.5-liter diesel engine developing just over 44 hp, which makes the G 63's twin-turbo V8 more than 14 times more powerful.
With the contest being a friendly one, the point wasn't to see which was better suited for the task but rather to have some fun. That's why, after the Sherp's initial pull forward - just to make it clear who would win in an actual duel - the two manage to find a balancing point that sends both vehicles into a strange bouncing state. Considering the Sherp's only damping comes from the air in its tires, anyone with the slightest concern for their spine would dread having to switch places with that driver.
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