1979 Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen (G-class) in the testing

Development of the cross-country vehicle commenced in 1972 with a joint venture agreement between Daimler-Benz and Steyr-Daimler-Puch, based in the Austrian city of Graz. In 1975 the decision was taken to launch the series and build a new plant for it in Graz, where the G is still mostly made by hand even today.

When in February 1979 the Mercedes-Benz G-Models were presented, a totally new terrain was entered. Already during the war Mercedes-Benz had made cross-country cars which were, however, primarily used by civil as well as non-civil state institutions. The new generation of off-road cars were, on the one hand, conceived as an exclusive vehicle for free time activities, on the other hand, for heavy use in industrial and community areas.

The development took place in co-operation with the Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG which extended the Puch plant in Graz-Thondorf for the series production of the G-Models. First, on the basis of a co-operation contract, the "Gelände-Fahrzeug GmbH" (off-road vehicles ltd.), in which both partners participated with 50 %, signed responsible for the production. In August 1981 the participation of Daimler-Benz in the GFG was given up. Ever since, Mercedes-Benz off-road vehicles are produced by Steyr-Daimler-Puch as subcontractors. In Austria, Switzerland and the COMECON countries the otherwise totally identical vehicles are sold under the trademark "Puch".

The G-Series model range originally comprised four engine- and five body-variants as well as chassis with two different frame lengths and wheelbases. Besides an open car with short wheelbase one could also choose a station wagon, as well as a box-type truck on a short or long chassis. As to aggregates and engines one had gone back to proven components - quite in line with the modular system long practised by Daimler-Benz. As engines the 2.4-liter and 3.0-liter Diesel aggregates, the 2.3-liter carburettor engine and the 2.8-liter injection engine, all of them known from series 123, were used. Internally all models and variants were assigned to series 460.

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video © Daimler AG

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