Mercedes is plotting to introduce a second version of its wild G500 4x4², and our spy photographers have caught the huge, rugged, new off-roader testing in the snow.
It’s thought that the heavy masking at the rear hides a pick-up bay, meaning a double cab pick-up variant will sit alongside the original four door G500 4x4² introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015.
As with the G500 4x4² SUV, the pick-up gets a visibly wider track – it’s 30cm wider than on the standard G-Class on the SUV version, which also uses jacked up suspension for 450mm of ground clearance and a wading depth of one metre.
The car spied here wears 22-inch AMG alloys, and should the pick-up get the same suspension technology as the SUV, robust dual coil and damper struts with adjustable damping should hide behind them. Huge flared wheel arches accentuate the extra width and keep the large wheels tucked in.
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Compared to its boxier stable mate, the G500 4x4² pick-up appears to boast a longer wheelbase in tandem with its pick-up bay. However, the same engine tech should feature. The G500 4x4² SUV makes use of a 4.0-litre AMG V8 bi-turbo engine producing 416bhp – a detuned version of the engine found in the AMG GT. It drives all four wheels through a seven-speed gearbox and three selectable differentials.
The 4x4² G-Wagens aren’t the only eye-catching variants of Mercedes’ classic off-roader, and a rugged pick-up truck has been spawned before – the six-wheeled, 536bhp G63 AMG 6x6.
This new G500 4x4² pick-up should be a send off for the current generation G-Class, which is set to be overhauled with a new version in the near future. We’ve already got spy shots of the new G-Wagen, and you can read about it here.
Pick up truck or boxy SUV - which G-Class 4x4² do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.