Papa wag vir jou - Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG 6x6

Cape Town companies Just like Papa & Wulfchiptegnik impressively modified one of the most insane vehicles ever built: the titanic Mercedes G 63 AMG 6x6.
LossKARn took it for an exhilarating spin in the Atlantis sand dunes.

Iphonography: Peter Taylor

When German car engineers come together for a beer after work it can sometimes end in unambiguous proof that they do in fact have a brilliant sense of humour. Take this pub idea for instance: ‘Why don’t we give the utilitarian Australian army Mercedes G with its three axles the full AMG treatment?’ No sooner said than done, they mobilized the necessary funds and build a prototype. The concept clicked with (loaded) customers worldwide and Mercedes-Benz ended up hand-making more than a hundred of the colossal G 63 AMG 6x6 - between 2013 and 2015. At the time the most expensive model in their line-up. If used ones ever come up, they hover significantly above the one million Euro mark.
A wealthy South African business man showed interest as well. The only problem was, that there were only left-hand drive beasts available, which couldn’t be imported into the country. Well-known German Mercedes tuner Brabus came to the rescue. From a ‘small’ batch of ten vehicles onwards they would be willing to convert to right-hand drive – at the time for R12mio a piece. The wealthy South African entrepreneur ordered ten.
Now I am sitting in one of them, one that has received loads of additional custom fabrications by the ‘Just Like Papa’ team, which makes this G 63 6x6 even more unique. One of my favourites is the shock-proof Single Malt Whisky cabinet integrated in the rear, under the chromed roll bar. Turning the 6x6 into the most stylish sundowner vehicle in the country. By far.
Performance-wise, Wulfchip Tegnik was responsible for the R240k Akrapovic titanium exhaust system installation, in combination with their performance software. The world first on a G 6x6. As we are all aware AMG is well-known for the sound spectacle of their V8s. They growl, howl, scream and rumble with guttural passion. The Akrapovic exhaust changes all this into something more seismic, almost tectonic-plates-shifting. This is not a mere angry sound anymore, it’s Mother Alien angry, right after Ripley used the flame thrower on her offspring and incinerated the alien eggs.

About 500kW and the enormous torque of 1100Nm are ironing out the steep sand dunes of Atlantis. Even with almost no momentum the beast screams up the loose inclines in a rather intoxicating way. To be honest the grin on my face stayed on. Even long after this exhilarating drive ended. And fuel consumption? No comment.

The electrification of cars seems to be unstoppable, but as long as fun-loving engineers are coming up with vehicles like the 6x6, I am not worried.