Did you love the looks of the 1980 Mercedes-Benz G 280 GE that we selected as our Pick of the Day back in February yet wished it had more modern technology? Well, we have great news: the Mercedes-Benz Stronger Than the 1980s Edition G-Wagen combines that cool retro style with the power and conveniences of today’s G 550 model.
If you’re thinking the vehicle you see here looks an awful lot like the G 280 SE that we highlighted, there’s a reason for that: Mercedes based the looks of the Stronger Than the 1980s Edition on the 280 SE. In fact, the Agave Green on our Pick of the Day is one of the throwback colors Mercedes offers on its heritage-inspired rig, albeit it’s now a shade from the Manufaktur line; the other colors are Cream (a color popular with people in the ’80s who drove their G-Classes in the city) and Manufaktur Colorado Beige. Keeping with the retro theme, Mercedes used Manufaktur Night Black Magno to black out the front fascia, grille, brush guard, bumpers, side sills, wheel arch flares, and mirror caps. The Manufaktur Logo Package adds black door handles with an embossed “G” logo. A set of silver 18-inch alloy wheels break up the two-tone look.
Other visual references to the era of Reagan and Thatcher include the old-school Mercedes badge on the hood and the “Mercedes-Benz” lettering on the rear door, which carries a spare tire with an edition-specific cover. Functional upgrades include mud flaps and all-terrain tires; models finished in Manufaktur Agave Green paint also come equipped with a roof rack.
Inside, the Stronger Than the 1980s Edition has black leather seats with checkerboard fabric inserts, as well as explicit branding on the passenger-side grab handle. The Schöckl mountain near Graz, Austria, where G-Classes have been tested and validated off-road since 1979, earns recognition in the form of the topography displayed on the front door sill panels and a “Schöckl Proved” badge at the base of the B-pillar.
The “1 of 460” badge on the center console not only pays homage to the first G-Class model series, W460, but it also indicates how many Stronger Than the 1980s Editions Mercedes will be built for the world market. Units from the U.S. allotment are scheduled to arrive in dealerships sometime later this year. There’s no official word on pricing yet, but we have a hunch the MSRP won’t be from the 1980s.