Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6 is as awesome as it is ridiculous

The Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6 is utterly ridiculous. Stuffing a 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 into a former military vehicle turned luxury status symbol is nonsensical enough, but then Mercedes added another axle. There is no need for a car like this, but we still want one.

Like the regular Gelandewagen (or G-Class, to the uninitiated), the G63 AMG 6×6 is based on a military vehicle. Mercedes built a batch of six-wheeled trucks for the Australian army and they’ve been in service since 2011. It’s not surprising that something this post-apocalyptic hails from the land of Mad Max and the V8 Interceptor.

The civilian version of the 6×6 gets all of the luxury amenities of the regular G-Class. The leather-lined cabin seats four, and pickup bed is even lined in bamboo.

The Australian army has to make do with a 3.0-liter diesel V6 and five-speed automatic transmission, but Mercedes’ affluent civilian customers (presumably radioactive mutant warlords and doomsday preppers with trust funds) are used to something more refined and powerful.

Under the hood is the same 5.5-liter V8 as the stock G63 AMG, with 536 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. It’s hooked up to Mercedes’ 7G-tronic seven-speed automatic transmission.

The G63 AMG 6×6 also has plenty of off-road hardware, including low-range gearing and five differential locks that can keep all six wheels turning at the same speed with the push of a button. There’s also a tire pressure control system for the huge 37-inch wheels.

The most insane aspect of this behemoth, though, is the fact that it’s not a custom one-off. Mercedes really does plan to put the G63 AMG 6×6 into production alongside four-wheeled G-Classes at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz Austria.

Only 20 to 30 of these extreme trucks will be built each year, and they won’t be cheap. Axel Harries, head of G-Class development, told Autoweek that it will probably be Mercedes second most expensive model. It will be topped only by the SLS AMG Electric Drive, which has a new official price of $457,000.

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