The Mercedes-Benz G350d Professional Returns to G-Wagen’s Off-Road Roots

The celeb-beloved Benz of choice is getting down and dirty.

Lately Mercedes-Benz‘s iconic G-Wagen has become the favorite paparazzi getaway vehicle of celebs ranging from Kanye and Kim to Britney Spears. But long before Benz began marketing it as a luxury vehicle, the G-Class was an extremely capable off-roader designed for military use.

The latest iteration of the boxy bruiser, the new 2017 G350d Professional, is designed to be a “highly purist variant” that is “ideally suited to grueling off-road use and professional applications.”

That means some of the latter-day luxury amenities like power windows, an infotainment screen and leather seats have been left out, bringing the price down to €79,968, or about $90,000 for the truck’s initial European offering. 

On the upside it gets some more tactical touches, including a modified suspension with increased ground clearance, a matte black radiator grille and black 16-inch light-alloy wheels with all-terrain tires, and options like a steel front bumper with a winch fitting, protective grilles for the lights, a roof rack with a ladder and a load compartment finished in wood.

Under the hood lurks a a 3.0-liter V6 diesel good for 242hp paired to a 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission, permanent all-wheel drive with off-road ratio and three electrically selectable, 100‑percent differential locks for exploring uncharted territory.

 Want one? We do. And it just might be worth moving to Europe for….