Weeks before it’s officially unveiled at next month’s Beijing Motor Show, Mercedes has leaked a photo of its lightly facelifted G-class.
Scheduled for a June launch, the latest version of Mercedes’ 33-year-old G-class boasts a number of subtle styling tweaks to the box-like facade.
The newcomer — which will be available in two different wheelbases: 2400mm in standard guise and 2850mm in LWB form — gets a restyled grille, new headlamp inserts featuring LED daytime running lights and redesigned mirror housings.
It’s also believed the facelifted model will also benefit from altered tail lamps graphics and a new line of alloy wheels.
There are also big changes under the bonnet. Out goes the tried-and-tested, but 12-year-old 500bhp supercharged 5.4-litre V8 in the G55 AMG. It’s replaced by a 536bhp version of AMG’s contemporary twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 in a new G63 AMG.
The biggest news though is the introduction of a new and extremely fast G65 AMG. Powered by the same twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 recently confirmed for the SL65 AMG, the 621bhp engine is understood, according to Mercedes, to catapult the 2500kg-plus G65 AMG from 0-62mph in just 5.2sec. The car is electronically restricted to 155mph.
The AMG models are instantly recognisable by dint of their different front end: all AMG G-class models get a deeper front bumper housing large air ducts for more efficient engine cooling.
Not surprisingly, they also benefit from larger brakes lifted from the recently introduced ML63 AMG.
All new G-class models will be equipped with Mercedes’ seven-speed 7G-tronic gearbox in place of the five-speed 5G-Tronic unit: in addition to making the journey smoother, the seven-speed is also more economical. The G63 AMG also gets a stop/start function and brake energy recuperation.
About Jim McGill
Jim McGill is an award-winning motoring and motorsport journalist with more than 25 years' industry experience. He contributes to a number of newspapers and magazines, including The Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Scotsman, Sunday Herald and AA Magazine.
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