Electric Mercedes G-Wagen Rocks the Tank Turn

It looks like Rivian isn’t the only electric truck-maker who can figure out how to get wheels to spin in opposite directions. The upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQ G-Wagen can also pull off the tank-like move, if a new video is to be believed… which is weirdly appropriate, since the OG G has been described as “a tank” for decades!

Electric off-roaders from Rivian to Tesla to GMC have been working on similar tank turn and “crab mode” features as well, using the unique characteristics of multiple electric motors that make them capable of acting independently from one another to do some pretty neat tricks. That’s by design, since these trucks have enough capability to get into some pretty hairy situations off-road. As such, the capability to get back was “baked in” to the new EQG.

“The design advantages of the electric drive also play into its favor,” read the official launch release. “… making it ideally suited for off-road vehicles and ambitious off-road operations.”

For their part, MB execs seem pretty excited about the whole thing. “We are proud of the more than 400,000 ‘G’s we have produced to date,” said Dr Emmerich Schiller, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz G GmbH and Head of the Off-Road Vehicle Product Division at Mercedes-Benz AG, when the car launched in Seoul last year. “In its more than 40-year model history, the G-Class has always used the most modern and suitable drive technology at the time – from the pre-chamber naturally aspirated diesel of the early days to the AMG 4.0-litre V8 in the current top model, the G 63. Against the background of our ‘Electric only’ strategy, the electrification of this off-road legend is simply the logical next step – and an absolutely fascinating project. Our icon is and remains ‘stronger than time’ in every respect.”

So, is it a gimmick? It sure is, and the Mercedes EQG— the electric version of the the legendary G-Wagen— is the first German to go for that kind of gimmick … but it does so in (how would Steve put it?) grand Teutonic style!

That’s my take, anyway. Check out the promo video, posted by AVS Mercedes-Benz, below, then let us know how you think Mercedes’ lineup of all-electric EQ luxury cars and sports sedans (and now, SUVs) is shaping up in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Mercedes EQ G-Wagen Makes a Tank Turn

Source | Images: AVS Mercedes-Benz, via YouTube.