Arnold Schwarzenegger already has one commissioned for himself – but how will Daimler’s own make perform?
The G-Wagon needs no introduction to motorheads and otherwise. Its muscular skeleton and brute force has had poster boys the likes of Drake, Sylvester Stallone and most notably, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Having sat in the front passenger seat of an Edition 1, we can attest that the image of dominion it asserts on the roads is felt more so when you’re in the beast itself.
But would it have that same power if it were given an all-electric engine? Well, we’re all about to find out.
Mercedez-Benz Head of Digital Transformation Sascha Pallenberg recently posted a tweet quoting his boss, Daimler’s CEO Ola Källenius, saying: “There will be a zero-emission EV version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. In the past there were discussions whether we should eliminate the model, the way I see things now I’d say the last Mercedes to be built will be a G-Class.”
#Daimler CEO Källenius: ”There will be a zero-emission #EV version of the #MercedesBenz G-Class. In the past there were discussions whether we should eliminate the model, the way I see things now I’d say the last Mercedes to be built will be a G-Class” #AMWKongress #eMobility pic.twitter.com/tAS6tzpR3Y
— Sascha Pallenberg 潘賞世 (@sascha_p) November 7, 2019
So, it looks like Daimler is on track with its pledge to introduce over 10 electric cars to its lineup by 2022. This announcement comes less than six months after the German marque introduced its first all-electric SUV, highlighting efforts to steer the company down a more environment-friendly path.
However, an electric-powered G-Wagon may sound rather farfetched, since it’s known to be one of the heaviest SUVs in the market.
As it turns out, the concept has been tried and tested by none other than Schwarzenegger himself. In 2017, The Terminator actor commissioned Austrian company Kreisel to electrify his first generation G-class with a 500bhp setup.
“I can’t even use all that power. It just flies. It’s much faster than the 6.3,” he told TopGear.
There, he said it – but how will Daimler’s own make perform? Nothing else has been confirmed at this time, but we’ve got high hopes for it to (at least) match Arnie’s top speed of 183 kmph.