Mercedes G63 AMG 6x6 Was Abandoned and Stripped of Its Engine, Expert Thinks He Can Fix It

1 week, 6 days ago - 24 December 2024, autoevolution

Mercedes G63 AMG 6x6 Was Abandoned and Stripped of Its Engine, Expert Thinks He Can Fix It

This was once a six-wheel monster that was braving the sand dunes of Dubai, looking awesome while at it. That is why Mercedes-Benz built it in the first place. Now, one of the few ever made sits abandoned, stripped of its engine and collecting dust. A car rebuild expert believes he found the silver bullet and can save this giant.

Super powerful, super capable, sporting super-sophisticated technology. That is what the Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG 6x6 has always been. Mercedes wanted to keep it exclusive in order to make it a collectible. There are no official numbers, but the automaker reportedly rolled out about 100 examples between 2013 and 2015, with most of them ending up in the land of the rich, the United Arab Emirates.

Mercedes sold the six-wheel vehicle for a starting price of $379,000, which translated to almost $400,000. However, on the used car market, the few examples available for sale can go as far as $800,000, which is double the MSRP.

The model built at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria, where the G-wagons have been seeing the light of day since day one, the motorized Gulliver is set in motion by a 5.5-liter M157 twin-turbocharged 32-valve V8 engine, which pumps out 536 horsepower and 561 pound-feet of torque. A seven-speed 7G-tronic automatic transmission puts the power down through all four wheels.

The six-wheeler can accelerate from zero to hero (0 to 60 mph or 0 to 97 kph) in 7.8 seconds and can hit a top speed of 100 mph (161 kph). It may not sound like anything to write home about, but, hey, that V12 has to pull 9,050 pounds (4,105 kilograms).

Portal axles, five electronic differential locks, a tire pressure control system, an 18.1-inch (460-millimeter) ground clearance, and a fording depth of 39.4 inches (1,000 millimeters) make it invincible. It stretches along 231.3 inches (5,875 millimeters), is 83.1 inches (2,110 millimeters) wide, and stands 87.0 inches (2,210 millimeters) tall.

But now, this model only sits in one place, with no engine under the hood. Not even a forklift can pick it off the ground without getting capsized. It is covered by a layer of dust on top of another layer of dust. It is also lacking the front grille and headlights along with the V12 engine. But Ruan Schneider is now trying to resuscitate the model that has been abandoned for the past six years.

He estimates he can put this giant together for approximately $56,000. The most expensive part of the revival is transplanting a heart under the hood of the Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG 6x6. The original V12 is in pieces, with no chance whatsoever of running again because the engine block is damaged.

Ruan is taking a huge risk: he purchased a Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG, which is powered by the same M157 engine. However, he knows that it might not fit into the G 63 6x6. The extraction from the ML goes according to plan, but Ruan has yet to see if the transplant goes according to plan as well.