Japanese Car Auction Finds: Mercedes G-Class (G Wagen) G500L

The G Class is one of those cars that you though had already passed on, but then it turns out that it is still around – and not only still around, but it has actually been reintroduced to a number of markets (UK, South Africa etc) recently. Which makes it rather ironic that Mercedes is actually phasing it out this time.

From the exterior you can see that it comes from a similar generation to the first generation Range Rover. But while Range Rover has moved on through a couple of styling upgrades since then, the G Wagen has stubbornly stuck with the old, clunky look.

Despite this, and despite competition from Mercedes own off road alternatives, the G Class has survived all these years. And the big M does not intend to let the G Wagen sail off quietly into the sunset. No, apparently, the power-mad boffins at AMG are cooking up a 600 horsepower version. So, even if you had thought the G Wagen had gone out to pasture a long time ago, the AMG version will quickly disabuse you of that misconception.

This one in the car auctions in Japan is a very clean G500L from 2005 with just over 11,000 KM on the odometer. The exceptionally low mileage is going to push the price up – possibly over 7 million Yen when this is auctioned on Thursday.