Believe it or not, there’s an all-new Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen beneath all those loops and swirls of black-and-white camouflage. It may not look all that different than the current Gelandewagen, which has been roaming the planet since the 1970s, but that’s more a sign that Mercedes is treating this iconic off-roader’s new generation with extreme reverence. Those trademark squared-off lines and angles may look familiar, but the new G-Wagen shares just one exterior component with the outgoing model, according to Daimler chief design officer Gordon Wagener—a tiny plastic piece on the C-pillar.
But as the new G-Wagen will be almost entirely reborn, Mercedes-Benz needs to put it through the usual rigamarole of tests required to prove a brand-new vehicle can handle everything that’s thrown at it. Which, apparently, also means bringing it to the Nurburgring, as seen in the video below.
Now, the video doesn’t actually show the future G-Wagen lapping the Nordschleife, so we can’t say whether Mercedes is actively trying to piss off James May by testing a three-ton SUV on Germany’s best-known race track. It’s possible that the carmaker was simply taking advantage of the plethora of testing equipment and facilities we assume it has access to there, considering all the other vehicles it tests there already.
But if footage happens to show up of the new G-Wagen hauling ass along the ‘Ring itself…you can bet we’ll post it here for you to see.
