Mercedes-Benz G-Class

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class or G-Wagen, short for Gelandewagen is a four-wheel drive vehicle/sport utility vehicle (SUV) produced by German automaker Mercedes-Benz. The Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a major Daimler-Benz shareholder during his reign, proposed the development of a military vehicle in the early 1970s. A major reason to start development was the need of the German Army for a light military vehicle, but later the cheaper Volkswagen Iltis were chosen without any joint test. After a design change to a civilian cross country vehicle in co-operation with the Austrian car manufacturer Steyr-Daimler-Puch, production of the G-Class began in 1979 with the 460 Series models. The G-Class has been sold under the Puch name in certain markets, and the Peugeot P4 is a variant made under license with a Peugeot engine and different parts.