Traditionalists will have plenty to grumble about when Mercedes electrifies its G-class SUV next year, possibly as a 2025 model. As always, though, the survival of this iconoclastic off-roader depends on it evolving in line with modern technology. The brand’s recent EQG concept reveals that the production version will closely resemble today’s gas-burning G-wagens, meaning it will look like a glitzy box on wheels and should go like stink on any terrain.
Expect up to 600 HP
Details remain limited, but we know the EV will feature a body-on-frame layout with an independent front suspension and a live rear axle. Videos of a development mule spinning around its center axis on dirt—what Mercedes calls a G-turn—indicate that an electric motor will power each wheel, which together also should be able to mimic the action of front, center, and rear locking differentials. A combined output of 500 to 600 horsepower is a safe bet, along with at least 250 miles of range, despite an additional few hundred pounds of mass. For reference, the last 577-hp G63 model we tested weighed close to 5800 pounds yet shot to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. Sadly, the current G’s intoxicating V-8 rumble will be lost in the electric conversion.
Screens—and Maybe a New Name
A slightly less chiseled face should help this blocky SUV move through the air more efficiently. Expansive screens for Mercedes’s latest infotainment system will surely dominate the EQG’s five-seat interior.
The company will soon begin phasing out its EQ-based names, so the electric G-wagen may not be called EQG, but we expect to see both Benz- and AMG-branded models, with starting prices in the $150,000 to $200,000 ballpark. We’ll be among those hoping a burlier model with portal axles is also planned.
Technical Editor
Mike Sutton is an editor, writer, test driver, and general car nerd who has contributed to Car and Driver‘s reverent and irreverent passion for the automobile since 2008. A native Michigander from suburban Detroit, he enjoys the outdoors and complaining about the weather, has an affection for off-road vehicles, and believes in federal protection for naturally aspirated engines.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
