Prototype Drive
From the June 2013 Issue of Car and Driver
In the Middle East, only tourists ride on camels. Nowadays, oil-rich Arabian natives are more focused on jets and cars. Or, more accurately, Gulfstreams and huge SUVs. The garages of cashed-up kingpins house entire car collections, especially in the absurdly wealthy United Arab Emirates. But how can a sheik stand apart from his neighbors when every desert McPalace is overcrowded with Benz G-models, Toyota Land Cruisers, and Porsche Cayennes?
Some do so by purchasing the ultimate off-road vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz Unimog. The Unimog, however, is a heavy-duty truck lacking any creature comfort. It’s more difficult to handle than Kurt Busch after a bender, and a nightmare to park anywhere but in a strip mine.
So to solve this platinum-plated problem, AMG has come up with something a little special. After rummaging through its closet in Affalterbach, Germany, the company found the blueprints for a kind of baby Unimog, or a Geländewagen with the Unimog’s off-road capability. It’s a vehicle that AMG originally developed for the Australian army, with three axles and five locking differentials, because Australia can be that kind of place. The Aussies ordered 2000 units, then someone at AMG headquarters in Affalterbach said, “Hey, let’s drop our new V-8 in it.” The intent was clearly to create the planet’s most extreme off-roader with S-class-interior comfort.
AMG has built two stretched G63 AMG preproduction vehicles, each spanning more than 19 feet in length for more legroom and featuring a pickup bed for those fun antiquing jaunts to Outer Mongolia. It mounted four heated and ventilated leather seats in each vehicle and replaced the conventional axles with portal axles providing 18.1 inches of ground clearance. Both of these “baby Unimogs” were then sent to Dubai to show around to potential customers. “If there is enough interest, we will build a small number of vehicles,” says G-class project leader Axel Harries. But before any emir could climb behind the wheel, we took one of the prototypes for a serious romp. Our conclusion: The G63 AMG 6x6 is an automotive desert fox.
Entering this beast is akin to climbing The Nose on El Capitan. It’s more than 18 inches to the center of each wheel, and the cabin’s floor is another four inches higher than that. So before you invite a lady for a ride, we recommend purchasing a handy stepladder—chromed, to match the G63’s style.
