Gaze at these vintage G-Wagens in their element

It’s no secret that, these days, gigantic 4x4s are used for their originally intended purpose only slightly less often than broadcast news is used to tell us something that doesn’t fill us with existential dread. 

But, avoiding our usual screed about vinyl-wrapped G-Classes in Knightsbridge for once, let’s instead relish the unalloyed joy of seeing vintage Gelandewagens used for what they’re capable of: exploring the vast, wondrous wilderness of this beautiful planet. Sometimes from a few feet in the air above said planet. Adventuring is cool. And it can’t just be our hearts that soar at every picture of a G loaded to the gunwhales with adventure gear, or in full race-spec, pounding across some of the most sparsely populated lands our Earth has to offer.

And this is something that G-Wagens have relished for the past 40 years – whether it’s being driven by racing legend and low-key TG man-crush Jacky Ickx in the 1983 Paris-Dakar, diving through muddy puddles in full firefighting livery or literally flying over sand dunes for Mercedes press shots, the capital G thrives outside of capital cities.

There’s a big, beautiful world out there, just waiting to be explored. And tens of thousands of G-Wagens* ready to help you explore it. 

*In the interests of fairness and balance, we should mention that other large, imposing off-roaders are available. And often excellent. But more on that another time...