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<\/p>\nIn October 2017, Mercedes bid adieu to the V12-powered G-Class with a G65 Final Edition. Fast forward to June 2023, the G500 V8 Final Edition marked the end of the road for the non-AMG eight-cylinder model. While the G63 is still available, the legendary off-roader is not immune to the downsizing bug. Come 2024, there will be a G-Class flavor with no combustion engine at all. Shown in prototype guise at IAA Munich, the electric G is inching closer.<\/p>\n
Two years after introducing the Concept EQG at the same show, the German luxury brand is exhibiting a near-production prototype of the zero-emission SUV. An official announcement from Mercedes says IAA attendees can get up close and personal with the electric G “months before its world premiere next year.” Additional details are not available, but we do know the conventionally powered model is sticking around.<\/p>\n
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Mercedes has been tight-lipped about the technical specifications, although the EQG is expected to have a quad-motor setup and an optional high-density battery pack benefitting from\u00a0silicon anode chemistry. That should bring a boost in energy density of 20 to 40 percent to hit 800 Wh\/l at the cell level and provide a “significant amount” of extra range. However, the longer-range EQG isn’t due until 2025, so roughly a year after the standard electric variant.<\/p>\n
It’s worth noting that the EQG won\u2019t be the first electric Mercedes with four motors as the SLS AMG Electric Drive had a quad-motor setup way back in 2012. It\u2019s estimated the electric go-anywhere SUV will weigh about 6,600 pounds (3,000 kilograms) or even more. Taking into consideration its boxy shape giving it a less-than-ideal drag coefficient, it’s going to need that advanced battery tech to deliver a decent range.<\/p>\n
The EQG will utilize a modified version of the steel ladder-frame chassis that has underpinned the gasoline\/diesel G-Class (W463). Mercedes has said it’ll give it a double-wishbone front and trailing arm rear suspension. The battery will be housed within a steel case and wrapped in a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer compound to protect it while going off-road and wading through deep waters.<\/p>\n
Aside from the usual driving modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport), it’ll have Trail, Rock, and Sand, plus a creeper mode for going off-road at a pre-established speed. Another party trick will be the G-Turn, which is Mercedes speak for a 360-degree tank turn after using the shift paddles to select whether to go left or right.<\/p>\n