Mercedes-Benz has been promising us a more compact version of the iconic G-Class for a while now, and the SUV has now made a cameo at the IAA Munich show.
A single teaser previewing the body-on-frame off-roader appeared on the screen during one of the press conferences held by CEO Ola Källenius. It depicted three G-Class variants, one looking like the standard model, another one being the recently announced convertible version, and the one on the right being the “baby-G”. As you can see, it’s really similar to the full-blown G-Wagon (see video), but roughly one-third shorter in height.
In an earlier communication, Mercedes CTO Markus Schäfer said the “baby-G” would reach production within two years. He emphasized that it would share much of its design and tech with its bigger sibling, but will nonetheless be its own thing. For one, it will ride on a unique chassis designed specifically for its size to maximize handling ease and off-road capabilities. For another, it may end up with a vastly different powertrain selection. Schäfer declined further comment, but we suppose the company wanted to remain ambiguous about any possible EV variants given the current state of the market.
By expanding the G-Class lineup, Mercedes-Benz ultimately wants to separate it into a standalone sub-brand much like Land Rover’s Range Rover. It’s still too early to tell when that may happen, though. For example, most of us believed that Mercedes would bring its G-Class droptop to the Munich expo, but it never happened for some reason.
Still, speaking at the show, Ola Källenius assured us that we would be able to see the first “baby-G” prototypes running road tests “soon”.
