Forty-four years after launching, the 500,000th Mercedes-Benz G-Class has rolled off the assembly line in Graz, Austria, the only place it’s ever been built. At about 11,000 G-Wagens per year, it’s a far cry from the 653,000 Ford F-Series trucks that sold in just 2022, but that’s not the point. The point is to talk about the G-Wagen—one of the longest-produced vehicles in Mercedes-Benz history, an ageless collectible that’s never gone out of style, an undisputed symbol of wealth and status, an exclusive 4×4 icon with front and rear locking differentials—whenever we get a chance.
A special one-off 500,000th production anniversary G-Wagen celebrates the achievement by paying homage to the vintage G-Wagen. The build is based on a 1986 280GE and incorporates agave green exterior paint, one of the first paint colors available for the G-Class. The turn signals have the orange hue of the 1970s, the spare wheel cover has the classic, larger Mercedes star, and the rear door badge and five-spoke sterling silver wheels are blasts from the past. Best of all, nothing screams 1980s like its plaid seats. Should one forget that this “G” is special, there’s a special reminder on the passenger side grab handle that says No. 500,000 in agave green.
With production starting in spring 1979, this half-million milestone comes a year short of the icon’s 45th production anniversary in 2024, in which an all-electric variant called the EQG-Class will be sold alongside the gasoline V-8 versions. Whereas the four engines of the original G-Wagen ranged between 72 and 150 hp, the current $140,000 G550’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 produces 416 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque and the $180,000 AMG G63 comes in at 577 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque.
Don’t forget the Mercedes-AMG G63 4×4 Squared with its portal axles and the limited G63 Edition 55 for 55 years of AMG. The electric G-Wagen will have four individually controlled electric motors close to the wheels. Mercedes-Benz promises it will remain true to the design tradition of the traditional G-Wagen. Here’s to another 500,000 G-Wagens.
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