COMING to a hip-hop video near you soon is this, the latest outlandish, overlandish version of Mercedes-Benz's venerable G-Class offroader.
This vehicle - 'car' barely seems to do it justice -is called the G500 4x4
and follows in the jumbo tyre tracks of the even more bonkers six-wheeled G63 AMG 6x6. Mercedes says the G500 4x4
is essentially the 6x6 shorn of one of its axles. "The basic recipe for this overcomer of everything is simple: take the superior all-wheel-drive powertrain including portal axles from the 6x6," it says. "Take away one axle and blend it all with a newly-developed variable chassis and the series-production G-Class body. "A large pinch of V8 power with 416bhp, a set of 22-inch wheels, carbon-fibre detachable body parts and then just gourmet ingredients from the seductive designo Exclusive range for the interior - and the five-star menu for all off-road enthusiasts is ready."
That V8 engine is the twin-turbo 4.0-litre from the new AMG GT sports car, appropriately beefed-up for serious off-roading and the steep angles the G500 4x4
can ascend and descend.
The exhausts are sidepipes, exiting the bodywork just in front of the rear wheels. It can also wade through water a metre deep - just the thing for an Irish summer rainstorm.
The G500 4x4
is, for now, a "near-series" show car, but given that Mercedes built the ridiculous six-wheeler 6x6 version, it would be a surprise if the four-wheeled version wasn't put into production.
As Mercedes says, "the off-road world starts for the G500 4x4
where other vehicles capitulate". Looking at it, it's hard to disagree...