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Mercedes-Benz G-Class Turns Thirty

On the principle “Only good things survive the flight of time”, Mercedes-Benz has surely a reason to celebrate this month. The fact that one of its dearest babies is turning thirty is the sunshine of the German car maker in a gloomy period of time.

According to Global Motors, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is celebrating thirty years of existence since its launch on February 5-10, 1979. Its design has remained almost unchanged in time, but its engineering has suffered a few modifications in order to increase the cross-country vehicle's performance.

The idea started in 1972, which marks the beginning of the love story between Daimler-Benz and Steyr-Daimler-Puch, based in the Austrian city of Graz. In 1975, the decision to conceive a baby good for terrain rides was a priority for the German automaker. Together with it, the company chose to build a new plant for the baby in Graz, where the G-class is still mostly made by hand even today.

Back in 1979, the Mercedes G-Class was available in four engine variants, ranging from 53 kW/72 hp to 110 kW/150 hp.  The four original body variants included a station wagon and a panel van, each coming in a short- and a long-wheelbase version. A fifth body variant was also available, this one with a short wheelbase.

At the moment, the vehicle comes with three body variants: a two-door cabriolet, a three-door station wagon and a five-door station wagon. The masterpiece of the current series is thought to be the five-door G 55 AMG Station Wagon featuring an eight-cylinder engine with 507 hp (373 kW).

Now the baby has grown up and is celebrating its 30th birthday. Therefore, we take advantage of this occasion to wish it “Happy Birthday!” on behalf of the Autoevolution team.
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