autoevolution's G-Wagen Month

Traditionally, Germany is not a country known for making a lot of off-roaders. These guys like to play more in the premium passenger cars segment, and that’s where they shine the most. Yet there is one German-made vehicle that blends both such attributes and off-road capabilities like few others: the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

True fans know it as the G-Wagen. That’s short for Geländewagen, which in German means simply off-road vehicle. The beast has been around, moving its squarish shape over asphalt and off the unbeaten path, ever since the late 1970s.

Mercedes made the first one back then on a whim of the Shah of Iran, who at the time was a Mercedes shareholder with quite the pull. It was first intended as a military vehicle, but the folk of the era quickly saw its potential as a machine for the (rich) masses.

An off-roader tried and true, the G-Wagen is now also a testimony to the Germans’ appeal for finesse in whatever they do – just consider how you can’t have one in the U.S. for less than $139,000.

Since these days we’re kicking off a new year, we’ve decided to do so en force and in style by making January 2023 G-Wagen Month here on autoevolution. So stay close over the coming weeks for an extensive coverage of what the G-Class was, is, and will be.

Editor's note: This special feature by autoevolution was not sponsored or supported by a third-party.