2018 Mercedes-Maybach G 650 Landaulet in Las Vegas, Nevada

Chassis No. WDCYC7EF0JX280179

Mercedes-Benz introduced the Gel�ndewagen in 1979 as the result of a joint venture with Austria's Steyr-Daimler-Puch. Conceived as no-frills transportation able to traverse all manner of terrain, the W460 opened a new branch of the Mercedes-Benz lineup. For the first time, the company could compete head-on with Land Rover, which had ruled the segment for three decades. From launch, it was offered as a short- or long-wheelbase station wagon, a two-door Cabriolet, and a pickup.

The "G-Wagen" kept its basic structure for almost 40 years, even as it moved from utility work into the luxury market. The most significant change arrived with the W463 platform at the start of the 1990s. Buyers had come to expect the everyday creature comforts of other Mercedes-Benz models, and the W463 added a more luxurious interior and a revised exterior. Permanent all-wheel drive with three locking differentials replaced the earlier on-demand system. In 1994, the Gel�ndewagen became simply the G-Class, with a slate of eight- and twelve-cylinder engines later joining the range.

Mercedes-Benz unveiled the Mercedes-Maybach G 650 Landaulet at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, with deliveries beginning in the autumn of 2017. By then the company had been building Landaulets for more than a century, with the name itself dating to the era of horse-drawn carriages, when a landaulet was a coach with a folding hood over its rear seats. Until the G 650, the most recent Mercedes Landaulet was the ultra-exclusive Maybach 62 Landaulet. It was one of the last cars sold under the standalone Maybach brand.

The G 650's underpinnings comes from the G 500 4�4�, including portal axles that give it 17.7 inches of ground clearance, more than double that of a standard G 500. It keeps fully locking differentials and a low-range transfer case. Carbon-fiber flares over the wheel arches mark it out from other G-Class models. Like every G-Class before it, the G 650 was built in Graz, Austria, at Magna Steyr, successor to the original Steyr-Daimler-Puch works.

Its wheelbase is nearly 23 inches longer than that of a standard G-Class, making room for the amenities of a chauffeur-driven limousine. Up front, the driver sits beneath the same steel roof found on other G-Class models. Behind, a power-operated fabric top folds back opening the rear compartment. Rear passengers ride in two individual seats with active multicontour adjustment and a hot-stone massage function offering energizing or relaxing programs, as found in the S-Class sedan. Each seat reclines and has a swiveling calf rest.

A large center console houses thermal cup holders that heat or cool for extended periods. It also carries the controls for an electrically operated glass partition that raises and lowers and well as turns from transparent to opaque on command. Folding leather-topped tables and twin 10-inch displays complete the rear compartment.

The G 650 was offered with a single engine: the Mercedes-AMG M279. This 5,980-cc twin-turbocharged V12 is rated at 621 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, and at the time no engine in the Mercedes-Benz catalog produced more. It uses an all-aluminum crankcase, a forged steel crankshaft, twin-spark ignition, and air-to-water intercooling. A single technician assembles each one from start to finish, and a signature plaque sits on the engine cover. The M279 first appeared in the G 65 AMG of 2012. Power reaches all four wheels through an AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic.

This G 650 Landaulet was ordered new in Abu Dhabi and specified in Designo Mocha Black Metallic with a two-tone black-and-red Nappa leather interior. Its equipment includes the Designo Exclusive package, a black soft top, a Dinamica microfiber headliner, AMG carbon trim, ambient lighting, and a Harman Kardon Logic 7 surround-sound system. It rides on 22-inch immersion-polished alloy wheels and features retractable side steps.

Inside, the dashboard is trimmed in Black Nappa leather and the steering wheel in two-tone Nappa. It also features Comand Online with smartphone integration, heated front seats, and an independent heater, along with leather-clad grab handles and velour floor mats. The exterior adds a chrome package and a scratch-resistant clear coat. Built to Gulf-market specification, it carries both Arabic and English labels.

The G 650 has since been imported into the United States under the Show or Display Rule. A clean CARFAX Vehicle History Report begins in September 2020, when the G 650 passed a California emissions inspection at 573 miles. The report runs through 2026 and records a maintenance service at Fletcher Jones Motorcars in Newport Beach in April 2026, when the odometer read 1,094 miles and four new tires were fitted. A further dealer visit followed at Ferrari of Newport Beach in May. The G 650 shows just under 1,200 miles at the time of cataloging.

Mercedes-Benz built just 99 G 650 Landaulets, each a chauffeur-driven limousine with the hardware to leave the pavement behind. Its V12 power, portal axles, and locking differentials will take it up a rocky trail or across open sand, while its rear passengers ride reclined in massaging seats beneath an open sky.