If you ever wanted a timeless collection of military vehicles reminiscent of any cheap action movie villain’s private military force, a specialist tuning company for Mercedes-Benz has an army of Swiss military G-Wagens for sale now.
Last week, Jethro Bovingdon—one of the new hosts of MotorTrend’s upcoming Top Gear America series—tweeted that a ton of old G-Wagens from the early 1990s were going up for sale:
I reached out to Lorinser, a specialist tuning company specializing in Mercedes-Benz vehicles and parts, and got the press release, and hoooo boy.
Form the Lorinser release:
Lorinser offers numerous Puch G with long wheelbase, three doors, eight seats and a soft top as well as several vehicles with hard top and four seats. Depending on condition, mileage (45,000 to 202,000 km) and model year (1990 to 1996), prices range from €15,200 to €19,500.
Those prices roughly translate to about $17,000 to $21,700. That’s a lot of cool practical military trucks for not a lot of money. Given the age range, it shouldn’t be too difficult to import one to the U.S. if you wanted.
I should clarify that technically these are Puch G-Wagens. Puch was an automotive manufacturer in Austria dating back to the 19th Century which occasionally built other companys’ vehicles under license. For awhile, it built G-Wagens for the Swiss army. It’s also been known as Steyr-Puch in some cases, all of which was eventually enveloped into today’s Magna Steyr, the Austrian manufacturer that continues to build the G-Wagen even today.
What’s cool about Lorinser offering up these G-Wagens is that they can also develop them into restomods, if you so desire:
Still not cool and smart enough? As an alternative, Lorinser also offers an extravagant Restomond based on the Puch G. It is the perfect solution for anyone who loves purist off-road vehicles but is not too fond of the used look and camouflage paint. Here, Lorinser fully refurbishes the body of the soft-top Puch G and paints it in striking colors such as light ivory, green-gray, sand yellow, Arab gray or canyon beige.
This G is not merely a status symbol, though, but still a powerful workhorse, as highlighted by modern extras such as LED work lights, a modern cable winch and a 3.5-ton towbar. 16-inch Dotz off-road rims with all-terrain tires, a radio and the completely redesigned seating with Lorinser logo on the headrests complete the perfect package.
To ensure that this classic car will be fun to drive for many more decades, the experts additionally blast the underbody with dry ice and then meticulously apply underseal. Prices for a complete vehicle depend on mileage and age and start at just under €50,000.
That price roughly translates to around $55,700.
If you don’t want a restomod version, each of the vehicles available still comes equipped with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder gas engine mated to a four-speed transmission, with a locking rear differential and all-wheel drive. Soft-top versions come with folding rear leatherette bench seating, and hard-top models come with shelves, a table and two seats in the back.
For an additional €4,000, or roughly $4,500 directly translated, you can modify the original G-Wagen with the same 16-inch Dotz off-road wheels and tires and upgraded fender flares from the full restomod.
All of that sounds good. All of this looks good. They have so many. I hope somebody buys all of them (with peaceful intentions, in honor of the Swiss) and brings them all to America. Just imagine—you’d get to say you drive the Swiss army knife of cars.
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