Mercedes-Benz G-Class Celebrates 500,000-Unit Milestone with Retro Design

The 500,000th G-Class came off the production line at the Mercedes-Benz SUV plant in Graz, Austria, on Thursday.

The milestone comes 44 years after the civilian version of the G-Class debuted, and as a sign of the car's growing popularity, the last 200,000 units were built just six years ago.

To commemorate this milestone, the 500,000th model is a special one-off design with elements that mimic the early G-Class, specifically the 1986 280GE. The retro touches include Agave Green exterior paint (one of the earliest colors available for the G-Class), checkered fabric on the seats, and orange lenses on the indicator lights. According to Mercedes, the design of the steering wheel and spare wheel cover also incorporate classic elements.

Derived from the German word Gelendewagen, meaning "off-road vehicle," the G-Class was conceived as a military vehicle. However, Mercedes and the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch began discussing a civilian version of the SUV as early as 1969.

By 1972, a decision was made to develop one, and the first civilian version of the G-Class was launched in the spring of 1979. Steyr Daimler Puch was responsible for production until it was dissolved in 2001. However, the vehicle manufacturing business was taken over by Magna International of Canada, which became the new division Magna Steyr and still produces the G-Class for Mercedes.

Over the decades, the G-Class has been updated without changing its look and feel.