To drive a G-Class is to experience a vehicle that can rise to any occasion. As you would expect, it has all the attributes which make a Mercedes-Benz what it is: dynamism, com- fort, safety and status. Yet it is different. Although it has been continually updated, modernised and equipped with technical innovations, the G-Class has remained true to its roots like practically no other vehicle: it has the same classic shape, the same rugged design, and the same mission to cope with extreme conditions. These character- istics make it the only Mercedes-Benz that is at least as much at home off the road as on it. It is an unfailingly reliable partner which impresses whether parked at the kerbside or negotiating a mountainside. In fact, it is an object lesson in how staying resolutely down to earth is the key to attain- ing new heights of excellence.

Its own way – the only road it never leaves
Changing while staying the same, building a new G-Class that is still very much the old one – these are enormous challenges. Nevertheless, we have succeeded in continuing the legend, rather than eclipsing it.

Crazy? Outlandish? Superfluous? Just a few of the terms which greeted the G-Class Cabriolet when it was unveiled. Brilliant! Awesome! Incomparable! say those who really know: its drivers. We have nothing to add.

A single word can speak more eloquently than an entire manuscript. It projects pictures onto the retina of the mind’s eye and sends emotions coursing straight to the heart. “Geländewagen” (the official German designation of the G-Class, which translates as “cross-country vehicle”) is one such word. More than “off-roader” or “SUV”, it conjures up images of loading supplies for an expedition, of poring over large-scale maps,
of anticipation and excitement before the start and of the sense of being part of a great adventure. It is the invitation to plough through desert sands and the sense of achievement
on reaching places you had only ever dreamed of. It evokes the sound of the scree dislodged by the vehicle’s progress, the swish of the tyres on endless sand tracks, the smell of rare drops of rain on parched grassland...

This inner film has countless plots, but always the same protagonist. Its name may not have found its way into the dictionary yet, but it has long occupied a unique place in the hearts of those who drive it: the G-Class.

The rain of the last few days has eroded the path so that it is now no more than a set of tyre tracks strewn with loose limestone scree. Someone has carved “I survived the Schöckl” into the bark of a beech tree. That just about says it all. Situated to the south of the Alps, the Schöckl is the birthplace of the G-Class – and one of the toughest off-road proving grounds in the world.

Can it really be that demanding? As if in answer, a G-Class suddenly bursts through the undergrowth, negotiates the rocky ascent noisily, treating knee-deep holes in its path with complete indifference as it goes. No sooner has it reached the top than the professional driver at the wheel hurls the Mercedes-Benz back down the slope again. The G-Class covers at least 30,000 kilometres under conditions such as these during the test phase. Because a vehicle that has survived the worst that the Schöckl can throw at it will be able to take just about any other challenge it may encounter in its stride.

The stuff that legends are made of
Deutschmann nods. A slow, well-considered nod. Quite possibly the most influential head movement in the whole of the Graz Bergland region.

Some of his team watch him out of the corner of their eye before quickly getting back down to work again. With as many as 45,985 stitches to be placed, not to mention the countless cuts and folds, complete concentration and absolute precision are essential. The end result is then subjected to scrutiny by Herr Deutschmann, who has cast his unforgiving gaze over every G-Class for 33 years. A nod means excellent work. And if there is no nod? A vehicle which fails to attain the summit of perfection will never be allowed to leave the production facility in this picturesque, mountainous region of Austria.

The bobbins on the sewing machines hum as up to 810 metres of thread are dispatched on their mission to hold together the very heart and soul of every vehicle. No loop is too large, no stitch as much as a millimetre out of place. This accuracy and attention to detail reflect the passion which these skilled specialists – who are among the finest exponents of their craft – put into ensuring that every G-Class is a genuine Mercedes-Benz.