STUTTGART: Mercedes-Benz has expanded its off-road customer offerings around its iconic G-Class, unveiling new programmes as global demand continues to outpace availability.
Since opening the G-Class Experience Centre in Graz, Austria, in 2020, the marque has hosted roughly 3,000 participants annually, with bookings filling each season from April to November.
From October to November this year, the company will stage six editions of its first overseas programme, the "G-Class Expedition Desert Edition", in Morocco.
Limited to 20 customers per five-day event, the convoy will set out from Marrakech after an introductory dinner and luxury hotel stay.
Participants will tackle 811 km of terrain, including the Atlas Mountains’ high-altitude passes at up to 2,800m, water crossings, and remote tracks in the Anti-Atlas before arriving at a desert camp near Merzouga.
Spectacular dune driving and sand drifts will precede a charter flight back to Marrakech. The flat-rate package is priced at €14,990 (RM74,350).
Back in Graz, an enhanced two-day "Private Coaching" offering is now available for up to six drivers.
Priced at €9,950 (RM49,352) for two people, it includes two nights’ lodging, breakfast, a welcome dinner, and a factory tour of the Magna Steyr plant.
On day two, participants take the wheel on the Schöckl mountain test track — an off-road equivalent of the Nürburgring Nordschleife — navigating a 5.6-km course with gradients as steep as 60 per cent and 40 per cent climbs, rock ledges, deep furrows and narrow ledges.
The cornerstone one-day "G-Class Experience" remains on offer at €2,490 (RM12,350) per guest or €2,990 (RM14,830) for two. Groups of up to 24 rotate through four off-road modules on a 100,000 m² course featuring extreme slopes of up to 35 degrees, one-wheel traction challenges, deep mud and water crossings.
An on-road section tests dynamic handling with braking, slalom and evasive-manoeuvre exercises, complemented by a behind-the-scenes factory tour.
New for corporate clients, the G-Class Experience Centre can now be booked for company events, with bespoke driving programmes and hospitality in a dedicated exhibition space.
For owners collecting new vehicles, an “exclusive factory delivery” option permits customers from Germany and Austria to pick up their G-Class in Graz for €2,750 (RM13,640) or €3,500 (RM17,360), including a hotel stay, driving sessions with an instructor, a factory tour and a ceremonial handover in a glass cube.
Throughout all programmes, participants drive the full G-Class model range: the G 450 d, G 500, electric-powered G 580 EQ, Mercedes-AMG G 63 and the special-edition AMG G 63 4x4², allowing drivers to explore the vehicle’s capabilities across diverse powertrains and terrains.
As an aside, the electric G-Class is due to launch in Malaysia on June 26.
