A mix of materials – doors, fenders and hood are aluminium, body is steel – shed 170kgs. The new G is still hand-made at the Austrian Magna Steyr plant, where the 300 000. G wagon was manufactured in the summer of 2017.

And in the recent past you could see that German engineers clearly have a sense of humor. I can just picture this scene in a pub at the outskirts of Stuttgart. Close to where Karl Benz invented the first automobile in 1886. With each and every Weissbier the ideas are getting wilder. Until a sudden moment of silence. That’s it. Ja. Why don’t we turn the rather bland utilitarian Australian army G wagon with its three axles into an obnoxious AMG monster? With an endless parts supply in house, they opted for the portal axles of the go-anywhere Unimog truck. According to what the engineers are telling me, with portal axles unlike conventional axles, the wheels are not at the height of the axle centre, but are instead much further down on the axle’s heads, owing to the portal transmission. Whether or not you understand any of this tech gibberish, the resulting ground clearance does in fact reach insane proportions.

The first in the portal axle family was the above-mentioned G 63 6×6. Initially just two show cars were planned. But after publishing the first pics and videos potential customers went crazy. Even outside the Emirates. So Mercedes-Benz decided to produce just over a hundred units. A well-off South African car nut wanted one as well. Unfortunately the six-wheeler wasn’t available in right-hand drive. Until well-known Mercedes tuner Brabus jumped in. From an order of ten cars onwards, we convert them to right-hand drive, the Brabus guys promised. And ten it was. At R12 mio. each.

Four years ago the 6×6 was followed by the ‘baby’ G 500 4×4², as an unlimited model in the official Daimler line-up. In 2017 I (literally) climbed behind the wheel of my favourite ride. It felt like a mixture of Russian mafia, Mad Max and Terminator. A regular G wagon was used to transport the pope. As mentioned before, it was dubbed the Popemobile. Then this G 500 4×4² must clearly be the Godmobile.

Thanks to the much wider stance (30cm more) the on-road abilities are significantly better than in the standard G wagon. And with a top speed of 210km/h it is by far the fastest car on portal axles in the world. At the first robot I was standing behind a normal SUV and I was looking straight over his roof. This car is beyond borders. A G wagon on steroids. And while enjoying it on windy tarmac, I couldn’t wait to release it into the wild of the Mercedes off-road area, close to the old town of Biberach. Everything was there: mud, sand, water, steep inclines and deep ruts. The 4×4² irons out everything in a spectacular manner. It’s a straight line vehicle, no detours necessary. Toys for big boys. The day ended at the market square of medieval Biberach with some ice cream and – sorry, I couldn’t resist – stair climbing.

How can one top this vehicular pleasure, you might ask yourself now. Yes, with an additional axle. A couple of weeks ago I was finally sitting behind the wheel of one of the ten South African G 63 6x6es. One that has received loads of additional custom fabrications by the ‘Just Like Papa’ team in Cape Town, which makes this one even more unique. My personal highlight is the shock-proof Single Malt Whisky cabinet under the chromed roll bar. Turning this 6×6 into the coolest sundowner vehicle in the country.

About 500kW and the enormous torque of 1100Nm are flattening 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 for hours. The electrification of cars seems to be unstoppable, but as long as fun-loving German engineers are coming up with exhilarating vehicles like the G, the future looks bright for petrol-heads.