1979 Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen (G-class) in the testing

Development of the cross-country vehicle commenced in 1972 with a joint venture agreement between Daimler-Benz and Steyr-Daimler-Puch, based in the Austrian city of Graz. In 1975 the decision was taken to launch the series and build a new plant for it in Graz, where the G is still mostly made by hand even today. When in February 1979 the Mercedes-Benz G-Models were presented, a totally new terrain was entered. Already during the war Mercedes-Benz had made cross-country cars which were, however, primarily used by civil as well as non-civil state institutions. The new generation of off-road cars were, on the one hand, conceived as an exclusive vehicle for free time activities, on the other hand, for heavy use in industrial and community areas. The development took place in co-operation with the Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG which extended the Puch plant in Graz-Thondorf for the series production of the G-Models. First, on the basis of a co-operation contract, the “Gelände-Fahrzeug GmbH“ (of