If you're the sort of person who thinks the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen (or G-Class) isn't gaudy enough, but who can't quite bring themselves to order the outlandish G 63 AMG 6x6, then you might want to lean on Merc to put this thing into production - say hello to the G 500 4x42.
Exterior
It's pretty much a normal G-Class, until you get to the outsized, carbon fibre, removable wheelarches and Tonka Toy wheels. This is because the G 500 4x42 uses the portal axles of the 6x6, which are 299mm wider than the regular G's track and which allow the use of 22-inch alloys. Portal axles, by the way, are different to conventional rigid axles because the wheels are not at the height of the centre of the axle - instead, they are situated lower on axle heads, due to the portal transmission. That's what gives the G 500 4x42 its improved ride height and off-road abilities. The keen-eyed among you will no doubt have spotted the underbody protection and the LED light strips above the windscreen.
Interior
Plucking goodies from the designo Exclusive package, Mercedes claims the interior is as sumptuous as that of a luxury saloon. The seat bolsters, head restraints, dashboard, centre console and armrests in the doors are in black designo leather with white contrast stitching. Seat surfaces and door panels are finished in Dinamica with a diamond-quilting pattern, while the roofliner and pillars are also swathed in Dinamica.
Mechanicals
It's an EU6-compliant 4.0-litre biturbo V8 engine with a 'hot inside V' configuration for the turbos under the bonnet. If that sounds familiar, it's redolent of the engine from the Mercedes-AMG GT. Here, it makes 422hp - no word on performance data or the economy/emissions, though - and waste gases are pumped out through side-exit exhausts in front of the rear wheels.
More intriguing is the chassis, which is a newly adaptive set-up for the G-Class. Two parallel spring-and-damper struts are used per wheel, with one combination working with set damper characteristics and the other utilising electronically controlled adjustable damping. The net outcome of all of this is that, compared to a G 500 Long Wheelbase, the 4x42 has an extra 240mm ground clearance at 450mm in total. It has approach/departure angles front-rear of 52o and 54o (instead of 36- and 27o), has more than double the breakover angle at 47o vs. 21o and can ford a metre of water, whereas the regular G 500 can only wade through 600mm.
Anything else?
This is a 'near-series' show car, but Mercedes readily admits that if it gets the right feedback on the 4x42 then it will give it the green light to go into production. Expect to see it at Geneva in early March.