Where the EQ series uses tech such as wing-mounted cameras, aero wheels and bulbous grilles to slip through the air, the electric Gelandewagen makes do with the same shoebox profile as it always as. Let’s be honest, although iconic, the G-Wagen’s side profile alone probably gives Adrian Newey reoccurring nightmares.
That’s true of any of EV, but the G-Class comes with a whole separate set of boxes to tick. Much like a Rolex Submariner, it’s a tool that’s become more luxurious and refined all the time – but it still has to look like the original model that started the whole brand. That’s the problem with improving icons; you can’t really change them too much.
Updated G-Class models get reworked A-Pillars, which Merc says massively reduces turbulence. Look toward the top of the windscreen and you’ll also see a spoiler which helps cut down on the largest amount of drag. At the rear, air curtains around the wheel arches make the new G-that bit slinkier. This process wasn’t easy, though. ‘You know, we were often in the wind tunnel,’ Lesnik explains. ‘These days you can simulate every car very close that what you’ll get in the wind tunnel.