Mercedes-Benz G500 4x42: The G-wagen, Squared (or Something)

Salivating over the portal-axled height of a Unimog but fearful of all that task-oriented practicality? Craving the utter absurdity of the G63 AMG 6x6, but not up to the task of navigating your mall parking lot of choice with an extra axle in tow? (The limited 100-ish-truck production run just sold out, anyway.)

The very thoughtful folks at Mercedes-Benz have cooked up something just for you: The G500 4x42.

Yes, that's a superscript "2." It’s the G-class to the second power. The G-class, squared. Instead of the 16 driven wheels suggested by its name, the brawny-bro truck -- technically just a concept -- has four. They’re big, though: 18-inch beadlocks wrapped in gigantic all-terrain tires.

It’s so relentlessly offensive, it’s charming -- almost.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the G500 4x42 “blends all the advantages” of the rugged SUV series upon which it is based, except the quiet dignity that comes standard on your basic, workhorse G-wagen. Not that anyone in this monster’s target market is likely to be particularly concerned about dignity, quiet or otherwise, in the first place.

Under the hood is a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, a departure from 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8s found in the regular G550 and G63 AMG. It’s the same displacement as the 503-hp V8 in the AMG GT, and we’re guessing that’s more than coincidence. Still, the G500 4x42 isn’t pitched as an AMG product, leaving the door open for an even more extreme version down the road.

Of course, all this is predicated on the G500 4x42 heading to production. Which it will: At this point, niche beasts like this have a license to print money for Benz, especially when they’re based on a truck that’s going on four decades old. And if we were calling the shots at the German automaker, we’d probably be pushing things as far as we could as well, just to see what we could get away with. As the 6x6 and the 4x42 demonstrate, they haven’t found the limit yet.

If we learn more about this thing at the Geneva motor show, we’ll be sure to let you know. It’ll be awfully hard to miss on the show floor.

Graham KozakGraham Kozak has been fascinated with cars for as long as he can remember (probably before that, too). As Autoweek’s features editor, he aims to document the automobile as a unique, powerful cultural artifact and explore the incredible stories and unforgettable personalities that make up our ever-changing car culture. In his spare time, he does everything within his power to keep his pair of Packards (a ’48 and a ’51) running and enjoys long, aimless drives. He aspires to own a Duesenberg someday.