Origins
Development began in 1972 with a cooperation agreement between Daimler-Benz and Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Graz, Austria, following a suggestion from the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. A wooden model was shown to Daimler-Benz management in 1973; the first drivable prototype followed in 1974 and was tested in German coalfields, the Sahara and above the Arctic Circle.
Part of G-Class
6 moments in this segment.
- — The earliest Geländewagen driving trials, from the Daimler archive. A Daimler archive reel showing very early driving trials of the G-Model, well before the car reached the public. The uploader flags it as worth watching closely for the prototype detail.
- — Development testing of the W460 G-Class. Daimler AG footage of the W460 being put through its testing programme, showing the Gelaendewagen worked hard in development rather than posed. The uploader dates the material to 1979 and marks it copyright Daimler AG.
- — Geländewagen cross-country testing footage, 1979. Period film of the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen being run through cross-country testing. The upload's notes set out the chain that produced it: the 1972 joint-venture agreement between Daimler-Benz and Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Graz, the 1975 decision to build a dedicated plant there, and the February 1979 presentation of the production G-Models.
- — A history of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. A near six-minute survey of the G-Class from its origins onwards, assembled by an enthusiast channel. It is a retrospective overview of the model line rather than period footage.
- — History of the G-Wagen, first instalment. The opening episode of a four-part history of the G-Class, assembled from Mercedes-Benz and other archive material by an owner-enthusiast who also restores the cars himself. It is the most carefully sourced of the model histories in this batch.
- — How the G-Wagen went from military vehicle to status symbol. A fast, well-researched history of the G-Class tracing how a highly capable off-roader designed for hard use became a luxury status symbol, and asking whether the current car is still as capable as its military ancestors. An overview rather than an archive piece, but the most watched telling of the story.
