Vehicle Description
Number 296 of 500. The year is 2005, Mercedes-Benz considered that
2005 would be the last year they would export the Gel�ndewagen to
the USA market; however, with an order placed by the U.S. Marine
Corps for 157 Mercedes-Benz units to replace their aging and
limited use Desert Patrol Vehicle with a more modern and
militarized Interim Fast Attack Vehicle, the manufacturer continued
to offer the vehicle in the US market. To celebrate the supposed
end of US market Gel�ndewagens, 500 examples of the "Grand Edition"
model were made available. All "Grand Edition" are marked with
external Grand Edition badging on the front fenders as well as
silver plaque with specific series number "xxx of 500" on the
interior of the vehicle. Also new for the 2005 model year was the
first supercharged G55 AMG model, boasting a 469 HP V8 engine. So
equipped, a G55 AMG could achieve 60 MPH in 5.4 seconds. The G550
went from 0 to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds, while it took the G55 AMG 5.2
seconds. The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, sometimes called G-Wagen (short
for Gel�ndewagen, "cross country vehicle"), is a mid-size
four-wheel drive luxury SUV manufactured by Magna Steyr (formerly
Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in Austria and sold by Mercedes-Benz. In
certain markets, it has been sold under the Puch name as Puch G.
The G-Wagen is characterized by its boxy styling and body-on-frame
construction. It uses three fully locking differentials, one of the
few vehicles to have such a feature. Despite the introduction of an
intended replacement, the unibody SUV Mercedes-Benz GL-Class in
2006, the G-Class is still in production and is one of the longest
produced Mercedes-Benz in Daimler's history, with a span of 35
years. Only the Unimog surpasses it. The G-Wagen was not available
from Mercedes-Benz in the United States until 2002, although this
was preceded by a grey-market where even basic models commanded
six-figure prices in the 1990s. It was launched in 2002 as the
Mercedes-Benz G500 with a V-8 petrol engine and achieved 3114 sales
that year. This eventually tapered down to some sub-1000 sales
years, however, in the 2010s sales began to increase again
surpassing 3000 in 2014 and in 2015 it sold more than in its launch
year, with 3616 sold that year. In 2016 this increased to 3950 in
the United States. Canada saw a similar increase, which, although
is a smaller market saw sales increase from 127 in 2012 to over 400
in 2016 To view the car in greater detail, including an HD video
and 100+ HD pictures please visit www.gatewayclassiccars.com or our
Denver showroom. Call 303-872-4722 for more information.
