Mercedes-Benz G500 4×4² Likely Headed to U.S. Next Year

It looks like Mercedes-Benz will bring the G500 4×4² high-end off-roader to our shores.

On a press event to test the more modest GLS family, Bart Herring, MBUSA’s general manager of product planning, let a little gem slip. The G500 4×4² “is close to a good decision for the U.S.” he said. “It’s the ultimate statement for an SUV.”

This crawl-over-anything version of the G-Wagen went on sale in Europe last year. Approving its sale in the U.S. would not be a surprise. There is an appetite for the G-Class in the U.S. where Mercedes-Benz sold more than 3,600 units last year, up 17 percent. And they can be very lucrative. It might not provide the smooth ride of other Mercedes models, but the Gelandewagen attracts attention and there are buyers even for the $220,000 AMG G65 that went on sale in December and has notched 120 sales.

Herring did not provide a lot of detail but it sounds like the 4×4² could be on our side of the pond late next year, complete with massive wheels and insane ground clearance.

The G-Class dates back to 1979 and was an SUV before that was an established category of vehicle — it was just a truck in those days. And when Mercedes introduced the M-Class almost 20 years ago, its original intent was to replace the G-Wagen. But the boxy G was given a reprieve and is still largely hand-built at a plant in Graz, Austria today.

Mercedes’ lineup currently includes the G550 with a 4.0-liter V-8 Biturbo engine generating 416 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque; the AMG G63 with a hand-built 5.5-liter V-8 Biturbo (563 hp and 561 lb-ft) and the newest addition is the AMG G65 with a hand-crafted 6.0-liter V-12 Biturbo generating a whopping 621 hp and 738 lb-ft.

 

Mercedes likes to say the G-Class provides the gene pool for the rest of its SUVs sporting new names starting with “G,” which Herring said likely provides a bit of a tailwind for sales. The bigger draw is that Mercedes has refreshed the full SUV lineup over the last two years — nice timing given that utility vehicles are hot sellers in this prolonged period of lower gasoline prices.

The Mercedes showroom currently has a new GLA, GLC, GLE, and GLS (launching this month), as well as the face-lifted G-Class and the new AMG G65.

Herring also does not rule out an AMG GLS65 in the future. “Still to be determined,” he said of a model that would slot above the GLS63. “AMG has such a huge following. It’s almost a separate brand and they (customers) expect an AMG version of everything or they will go elsewhere.”

Mercedes-Benz sold 380,461 vehicles in the U.S. last year, 138,035 of which were SUVs (including 3,616 G-Wagens).

The post Mercedes-Benz G500 4×4² Likely Headed to U.S. Next Year appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/1V7w6Iy