It was in September last year that Mercedes-Benz first teased a new G-Class Cabriolet with a single shadowy image, and in December, the German automaker showed images of a prototype wearing camouflage, announcing that development had begun testing on the road and track in Austria, where regular G-Wagens are built by Magna Steyr. Mercedes added that prototypes would then head to Sweden for cold-weather testing, but revealed nothing else. But a new report from Automotive News, following a meeting with Canadian and U.S. dealers in Sindelfingen, Germany, says that more information has been disclosed, including that the drop-top luxury off-roader will have an AMG V8.
AMG G 63 Cabriolet Coming in 2028
The report says that the drop-top G-Class will be an AMG G 63, which means it will be powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, something confirmed by an anonymous retailer present at the meeting. This insider says that dealers were shown a pre-production model with four doors and Heritage Blue paint, and the final product will share the 577-horsepower V8 of the regular G 63, which, at the time of writing, carries a base MSRP of $195,500, according to the Mercedes-Benz USA website. No doubt, the fabric-roofed cabrio will cost more than $200,000 when it goes on sale, which AN‘s report says will happen in 2028.
Related: Mercedes Backtracks: Baby G-Class Will Offer Gas After All
This is the first time that the G-Class Cabriolet has been confirmed as an AMG product, and it’s the first time that we’ve had an indication of when to expect its arrival. That said, take this news with a pinch of salt. Mainstream automakers rarely tease new products so far in advance, and we suspect the G 63 Cabrio will actually debut long before then. Our guess? America’s first convertible G-Class will debut early in 2027 for the 2028 model year, if not later this year for MY2027.
More G-Class Cabrios Could Be Coming
The prototypes Mercedes showed last year did not have any distinctive AMG cues, like a pair of dual-exit exhaust tips on each side of the vehicle or AMG-specific wheels. Nevertheless, Mercedes’ December announcement did describe the vehicle as a “special edition,” which means it will be both expensive and limited in number. Therefore, the regular Benz badge won’t cut it. But could we get a Maybach variant? Like previous open-top G-Wagens, the Maybach G650 Landaulet was never officially sold in the U.S., but given how much of an appetite there is for exclusive and expensive vehicles both here and around the world, we wouldn’t be surprised if one were introduced in the not-too-distant future. In fact, a slew of trademarks filed last year hint at several new G-Class iterations. Whatever the case, the fact that North American dealers have been shown the new G-Class Cabrio means Mercedes is preparing to begin marketing it, and that means more information will be available before long.
