The incoming ‘baby’ Mercedes-Benz G-Class will sit on a bespoke ladder-frame platform, use “nearly all unique” parts and sport a design that “is even more modern than the current car”, bosses have said.
The new SUV will arrive within the next two years and will be the entry point to what is planned to be a new range of models, with Mercedes turning the G-Class into a brand in its own right – in much the same way JLR has done with Range Rover.
Speaking at the Munich show, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius said test mules would be appearing on roads “very soon”. A new preview image of the incoming model’s rear end was also revealed.
The ‘Mini G’ will be based on a unique architecture, confirmed tech boss Markus Schäfer, in order to be “as authentic as possible”.
He added: “The G is a very special, authentic car, and the Mini G has to be authentic. So I cannot take just a platform, I cannot take an existing platform – I have to create my own. It’s a completely new development.”
Schäfer called the platform a “miniature ladder-frame chassis”, which he described as being “not ladder-frame [to the G-Class’s] extent”, but with similar qualities “when it comes to suspension and wheel size”.
Schäfer also revealed that the Mini G will use a signifi cant number of unique components, “far more than I ever wish to tell you”. These include most of the model’s bodywork.
He said: “Over time, just looking at the car’s capabilities and what’s needed, I came to the conclusion that everything has to be unique, the whole upper body and everything.
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I was getting quite excited about this for my wife's next car....until I read the propulsion statement.
So thats killed it for me!
Kind of read like someone banking on the G class moniker to help sell a new vehicle they're not sure about.
I'm assuming this will support ICE/Hybrid and at some point full EV. That's a good thing imo because if JLR haven't planned to offer various forms of propulsion for the Baby Defender, this will forced their hand to give the EMA platform more versatility. If the Baby Defender is EV only JLR will have made a colossal. I'm waiting to hear that Velar/F-Pace will get a substantial facelift to keep all options open going forward. This Baby G Class should sell like hot cakes if the engineering is top notch.