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MERCEDES-BENZ G63 AMG Review

By: Andrei Tutu   ·   Photos: Catalin Garmacea Our test car specification: MERCEDES-BENZ G 63 AMG (W463) 2012
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I. History

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If you’ve been watching Mercedes’ AMG division over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed that business over in Affalterbach has exploded - they engineers are working their magic better and further than ever before. In this respect, AMG couldn’t resist the temptation to give the world its updated view on how a G-Class should be like.

The Geländewagen’s traditional shell was kept almost intact, but the bonnet now conceals AMG’s latest twin-turbo V8, while the offroader borrowed quite a lot of convenience and safety tricks from its more modern line-up colleagues. In addition to that, the vehicle is now friendlier to the human beings who inhabit it, with the cabin receiving a strong refresh.

The G55 AMG thus became the G63 AMG. This new model has quite a burden placed on its fenders, as its predecessor was the kind of car many automotive aficionados couldn’t build a dream garage without - the G55 AMG accounted for over 40 percent of G-Class sales.

AMG had first touched the Mercedes mammoth for the 2004 model year, with the G55, having the brilliant idea of gifting the car with a supercharged V8. The unconventional and extremely capable G55 AMG quickly became the vehicle of choice for customers ranging from oil tycoons and VIPs, to the aforementioned connoisseurs.

Speaking of the oil business, we have to explain that this is how the G-Class was born - back in the 70s’, the Shan of Iran, who was an important Mercedes shareholder at the time, saw the potential for the company to create a military vehicle. The project received the green light and Mercedes-Benz joined forces with Magna Steyr in Austria in order to make it happen. The Austrian company, which was called Steyr-Puch at the time, was tasked with handling the production of the G-wagen.

One thing lead to another and 1979 saw the vehicle also being offered to civilians. This joint venture also saw the car being sold as a Peugeot and a Puch, but only Mercedes’ model lived on to become the automotive icon it is today.

Over the years, the Mercedes G-Class was constantly upgraded, receiving training just like a soldier. This Mercedes proved to actually be more of a battalion, as it didn’t just serve one purpose. Apart from normal road use, its reach spread from offroad competitions to becoming a Popemobile and even performing on the aftermarket scene with a ridiculous number of horsepower.

Mercedes was planning to axe the G-Class and replace it with the GL-Class, but the manufacturer faced a strong protest from fans and asked Magna Steyr to keep its production line in Graz running.

We wanted to see how much the added technology and luxury could do for a vehicle that’s essentially over 33 years old, so we recently grabbed the keys to a Mercedes G63 AMG. In order to reach a conclusion, we decided to take the vehicle out in the desert and throw it at a modern city, among others.
80 / 100
autoevolution

February 22nd, 2013

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Table of contents
  • Intro
  • Exterior
  • Interior
  • In the city
  • Open road
  • Comfort
  • Tech facts
  • Gadgets
  • Safety
  • Conclusions
  • Technical data
  • Guest editor opinions
MERCEDES-BENZ G63 AMG photo gallery (102 pictures)
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