Electric G-Wagon Prototype Gets Tested And Vetted By A Classic
As technology advances, so do cars. So what happens when the first electric G-wagon sees production?
The Mercedes G-wagon has essentially been around for 45 years. It’s taken many forms and shapes, and housed the most Mercedes engines of any Mercedes ever produced. But, it has never been electrified. Till now.
Mercedes already has its own “EQ” line of electric cars, but an electrified version of the G-class may be met with some skepticism. To fend off that criticism, Mercedes has launched a new ad campaign to designate the new electric G-wagon as worthy of the G badge as all of its predecessors.
Mercedes made this video to indicate that even the old G280 GE would give a nod of approval to an electric G-wagon. “The electric G-class. Approved by the G-class,” is said by the narrator. The premise? Take a time machine back to when the G280 GE was new, and bring some stuff to the top of a mountain. A task that would be a usual affair for any Gelandewagen. Apart from the time travel.
Specs of the G280, a capable machine in its own right, are interesting to look at today. The long lived M110 inline 6 engine has 154 horsepower and 165 lb/ft of torque. Top speed? A blistering 96 miles per hour. The electric G-wagon will reportedly have 500-600 horsepower via Car and Driver. The range of 250 miles actually exceeds the relative performance of the G280, as well.
Electrifying a G-wagon faces an uphill battle (pun totally intended). As a literal box-on-wheels, taming the aerodynamics of the G-class will always be a challenge. As we learned from the EQXX, how a car cuts through the air is a huge determining factor for its overall efficiency. However, one advantage of the G-class is that it never frequently goes all that fast. Off road driving is all about maneuverability rather than speed, and the general use of a G-wagon (at least in the US) means it’ll see around-town use as a primary role.
So an electric G-wagon is measurably better in every regard than its predecessor. For the sake of being a curiosity, we know it’ll have interested buyers. But now the real question is how it stacks up compared to the current crop of gasoline powered off-roaders.
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