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Puch and Mercedes-Benz G - one of the last real off-road vehicles

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Created on October 16, 2019

Text:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

15

Daimler AG

28

Mark Siegenthaler

4

Daniel Reinhard

15

Daimler AG

28

Mark Siegenthaler

4

Puch G (1987) - The G-Class is a long runner for Mercedes

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Puch G (1987) - A nature boy

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Puch G (1987) - Mercedes called the color "China blue"

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Puch G (1987) - The spare wheel always travels with you

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Puch G (1987) - Collecting mushrooms in an off-road vehicle

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Puch G (1987) - After over 300,000 vehicles produced, there is still a long way to go

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Puch G (1987) - The G model has been in production since 1979

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Puch G (1987) - The interior was designed for functionality rather than comfort

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Puch G (1987) - The all-wheel drive could be engaged manually

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Puch G (1987) - The fittings provide information about the essentials

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Puch G (1987) - Thanks to its off-road transmission, no obstacle can stop the G so quickly

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Puch G (1987) - For the engine you could always reach into the Mercedes shelf

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Puch G (1987) - Headlights and indicators are protected for tough off-road use

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Puch G (1987) - With a length of 3.95 meters, the G with the short wheelbase can be described as compact

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Puch G (1987) - The design of the G has hardly changed over the years

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Puch G (1987) - The G in the wild

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Puch G (1987) - The shape is unmistakable

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Puch G (1987) - Good visibility thanks to large windows

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Mercedes-Benz 280 G (1981) - 460 model series on the road in winter

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Mercedes-Benz 280 G (1984) - 460 series together with S-Class W126 and tractor unit on the driveway in Untertürkheim

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Mercedes-Benz 280 GE (1982) - 460 series is often used as a towing vehicle, station wagon short

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Mercedes-Benz 280 GE (1985) - 460 series, station wagon short

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Mercedes-Benz 280 GE (1985) - 460 series, long station wagon

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Mercedes-Benz 280 GE (1985) - interior of the 460 model series, a little more sophisticated here

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Mercedes-Benz 300 G (1982) - Sation car short of the 460 series

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Mercedes-Benz G-Class (2009) - Edition30 Pure - Special model

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Mercedes-Benz G (1979) - Delivery program of the 460 model series at the start of production

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 series as long and open station wagon

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 model series, the open-top variant was only built until 2013

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 model series, four models with two wheelbases and five body variants to choose from

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 model series, interior

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 model series, open-top variant

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 series, open car, smooth design

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 series, open car

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 model series, powerful

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 series, station wagon short - in many sales regions the model is called Puch G

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 series, short station wagon, great importance was attached to practicality

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 series, long station wagon, climbing capacity up to 80 percent

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - 460 series, long station wagon

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Mercedes-Benz G (1981) - simple interior of the 460 model series

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Mercedes-Benz G (1982) - 460 series, station wagon short

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Mercedes-Benz G (1982) - the 460 model series is one of several passenger car series

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The Pope's car or "Papamobile": A Mercedes-Benz 230 G was fitted with a special body for Pope John Paul II's visit to Germany

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Mercedes-Benz G (1982) - Station wagon short

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Mercedes-Benz G (1985) - 460 model series, practical interior

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Mercedes-Benz G (1985) - 460 series, station wagon short

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Summary

Long before luxurious boulevard SUVs began to flood our roads, an off-road vehicle was launched in 1979 whose external shape has only changed slightly to this day: The Puch and Mercedes-Benz G. Almost unbeatable on rough terrain, equipped with two rigid axles until 2018, appreciated by foresters, hunters, farmers and the military in countless versions, today it is, so to speak, the German equivalent of the Land Rover Defender or the Range Rover of the first series. This vehicle report describes the beginnings of the G-model and shows it in historical and current pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Partnership at the beginning
Premiere in Geneva
Uniting two worlds
Off-road loads
Manual transmission preferred to automatic
Wide range of engines
Intelligent use of existing parts
Angular body
Bad compromise?
Outstanding off-road characteristics
And how good were the others?
Memories
In the name of the Lord
Sports cannon
Rising demand
Further information

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

At the 1979 Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz (together with Puch) presented the new G model, whereby the letter G stood for Gelände (off-road) and was of course part of the program. At the time, nobody would have guessed that Mercedes would build this model for over 40 years. However, after the turn of the millennium, the G became far removed from its original purpose of off-road use with ever more luxury and performance, in line with the trend towards SUVs. Since 1972, the partners Daimler-Benz and Steyr-Daimler-Puch had been planning and designing the G model under the joint umbrella of the specially founded Geländefahrzeug GmbH (GFG). Daimler-Benz, which already had a high level of expertise in the construction of all-wheel drive utility vehicles thanks to the Unimog, joined forces with Puch/Steyr for good reason.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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