Mercedes-Benz Teases January 15 G-Class Launch with Jurassic Park Reference

Over the past year, we've been bombarded with spy images and videos of the all-terrain vehicle being put through its paces. Whether it was on the colorful track of the Nordschleife or out in the snow, the Gelandewagen looked very much in its element. Well, maybe not so much on the Nurburgring, but don't tell any AMG G63 or G65 owners we said that.

Unlike any of its predecessors, the 2019 G-Class is going to be a whole new vehicle, designed from the ground up to meet the requirements of today's very demanding market. It gets to ride on a new platform, meaning it should behave at least slightly better on-road while still making its owner proud off it.

While the exterior design has been kept a secret - well, as secret as the design of a G-Class can be, albeit a radically new one - Mercedes-Benz has already shown its interior in what risks becoming a trend after the same thing was done with the A-Class hatchback.

From what we've seen, the new G-Wagen will keep its own identity, but will veer toward the luxury side nevertheless. It was probably to be expected considering the percentage of AMG SUVs out of the model's entire sales. It might seem sad for those who have no plan to buy the car but only admire it from afar, but it makes a lot of business sense for Mercedes.

The teaser launched by the Germans today shows the original model trapped inside the largest block of amber the world has ever seen. Anyone who's seen the first Jurassic Park movie (or read Michael Crichton's book, for that matter) will instantly think of dinosaurs and genetics, and the tagline does nothing to shoo that thought away: "The DNA lives on."

It shows Mercedes-Benz is very careful to send the message across that while this 2019 G-Class is completely new, it is still a direct descendant of the SUV that convinced so many generations (as well as armies) it was the ultimate off-road machine. We'll just have to wait (just under two weeks) and see.