Mercedes-Benz

4·2012

endurance test Putting the G-Class through its

paces in the Carrara quarry

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speed Drivers to look out forMagIc Art in the Alpstaste Macaroons from Paris

car cHase Legendary: the 500K

adventure Exploring Africa by balloon and helicopter

www.mercedes-benz.com issn 1617–6677

With 33 years of production under its beltline, the Mercedes-Benz off-roader boasts iconic status and makes a special

kind of statement. On a test run through Italy, this horse-for-all-courses shows off its remarkable versatility.

words michael moorstedt photos marc tr autmann

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Raring to go: the G-Class is all set for a triathlon of quarry clambering, city chicanes and highway cruising

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SUPREMACY SET IN STONE In the bizarre moonscape of the marble quarry, the off-roader proves its prowess.

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Stones spray out from under its surging tires, but the G-Class is still

nowhere near its limits

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The hallmark lines of the G-Class body have remained virtually unchanged over the years

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a u t o m o t i v e

UNSTOPPABLEGullies, gradients, gravel and great chunks of marble – nothing proved too much for the G.

After a day at the quarry, car and tires have

acquired a silky-white coating

1918 18 19

a u t o m o t i v e

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ix letters and a hyphen is all it takes to set

car lovers’ pulses racing. the magic word is

G-Class – that remarkable, almost legendary

powerhouse of a machine. Surely this must be

the most genuine off-roader in the world – the

granddaddy of all Suvs. mercedes-Benz has

been building this iconic automobile for the past

33 years. and the basic shape has remained

largely unchanged. this has nothing to do with

any lack of innovation in the design studio. it’s

just that when it comes to that old designer’s

credo, “form follows function”, there can be few

better examples around. the G-Class still does

exactly what it was designed to do: take an un-

compromising approach to all types of terrain.

You want to go that way? oK, let’s go.

the G-Class enjoys enduring popularity, and

in the past three decades has compiled an im-

pressive catalogue of anecdotes. it is the off-

roader of choice for hunters, the military and

other services; it has won the Paris-Dakar; and

even the Pope relies on its safety at his weekly

general audiences – one of the Papamobiles is a

converted G 500 with mother-of-pearl paintwork

and a removable all-weather dome.

SThree differential locks make clamber-ing and climbing child’s play

The exceptional height of the seating position makes for great visibility, not just in quarries but in narrow streets as well

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Exercising the workhorseBut that’s quite enough superlatives and his-

tory lessons. this year, the current G-Class was

given its third facelift. in keeping with tradition,

those striking exterior lines survived virtually

untouched. the right angle remains the right

angle for the G family and it takes an expert eye

to spot the changes. What does shine through,

though, is the switchover to LeD daytime run-

ning lights located beneath the headlamps –

and the door mirrors have been restyled.

take a seat in this big off-roader and all mem-

ories of the robust angular bodywork fade to

gray. in the redesigned interior the eye comes

to rest on the new steering wheel, smart-look-

ing switches and buttons, and the Comand

online infotainment system complete with

GPS navigation and internet connectivity. the

generously dimensioned freestanding screen

above the center console, meanwhile, is now

fitted as standard.

A modest makeover: new door mirrors and LED daytime running lights

Back in town: even at a stand-still, the G makes a splash

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a u t o m o t i v e

So where better to try out this bullish workhorse

than in the white marble quarries of Carrara.

Set in the north of tuscany, this is where the

stonemasons and sculptors of the Renaissance

sourced the material for artworks as timeless as

michelangelo’s David. over the centuries, their

successors have made countless pilgrimages

to Carrara to choose the ideal blocks of stone,

leaving behind a jagged panorama of unlikely

gradients in a surreal moonscape, criss-crossed

by dusty tracks of white gravel and edged with

uncut chunks of marble. Courtesy of italian art

and architecture, the perfect proving grounds

for the G-Class are therefore located between

Genoa and Pisa. Here, this car can truly show

what it’s made of.

after just a few minutes in the quarry, a sense of

sovereign calm settles over the driver, although

at first it’s hard to put a name to it. the car is

in its element. Dip the gas pedal and the stones

spurt out from beneath the wheels. treacher-

ous rugged trails and steep inclines, deep gul-

lies and fair-sized blocks of stone are all taken

smoothly in its stride. as they developed the

G-Class, the engineers at mercedes-Benz clearly

never wavered in their determination to endow

it with reliability, robustness and almost unre-

stricted off-road capabilities in even the tough-

est terrain.

more than 30 years on, the car has lost none

of these qualities. and now the reason for that

sense of calm becomes clear: it’s a feeling of un-

stoppability, feeding on the fascination of an al-

most primeval yet highly civilized tour de force.

The downtown stress testafter eight hours in the quarry, there’s no option

but to award the G top marks in every category.

the only reservation is a nagging sense of hav-

ing failed to push the 155 kW G-Class Bluetec

anywhere near the limits of its potential. there

was certainly no need to utilize the cool-looking

aluminum buttons that activate the three differ-

ential locks. the fact is that most drivers run

out of courage long before the G-Class hits the

ragged edge. and that has to be a good

FOREVER YOUNGRight angles continue to dominate the lines of the bodywork. The Comand Online infotainment system with large display, navigation system and Internet connectivity are now standard equipment.

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thing.

So now it’s time for the next test, maybe even

more challenging than Carrara: tackling the

streets of Genoa. at almost five meters (16 ft)

long and weighing more than two and a half

tonnes (2.8 tons), how is the uber-off-roader go-

ing to cope with the narrow and winding alley-

ways and squares of this ancient Ligurian port?

First, though, a trip to the nearest car wash is on

the agenda as the fun and games in the quarry

have draped a white patina all over the glossy

black paint.

Remarkably, in Genoa too the G-Class performs

well. the exceptionally high seat position

gives the driver a clear overview of the bus-

tling streets. instead of blocks of marble, the

obstacles here are madly weaving scooters and

the urban chicanes created by delivery vans

parked at crazy angles. But most of all it’s the

G-Class that causes a stir – at traffic lights and

from passing buses, the admiring glances are

everywhere. and while the driver would love to

think all this non-verbal recognition was aimed

at him, it’s the car and nothing but the car that

is the center of attention.

and so we come to the final discipline in the

grand G-Class triathlon – the freeway run

across northern italy and through Switzerland

back to Germany: 650 kilometers (400 miles) of

high-speed travel. inside the car it’s pleasantly

quiet. the G-Class surges up the alpine hair-

pins on the Gotthard autobahn with effortless

ease – before soaking up the admiration of Suv

owners at the next gas station.

Both gifted and gracefulafter three days with this institution in the

world of 4WD called the G-Class, what impres-

sions remain? that this car is more versatile

than it appears at first glance – gifted over

rough terrain, graceful on the blacktop. that it

cuts a dash both in the quarry and outside the

opera. and that, when you take a seat at the

wheel, you feel equally at ease in over-

Output range155–450 kW

Fuel consumption urban: 22.7–13.6 l/100 km(10.3–17.3 mpg)inter-urban: 13.7–9.8 l/100 km(17.1–24 mpg) combined: 17.0–11.2 l/100 km(13.8–21 mpg)

CO2 emissions

combined: 397–295 g/km(638–474 g/mi)

Energy class G–F

the values stated were calculated according to the measuring methods specified in the currently applicable version of Directive 80/1268/eWG. the data do not relate to a specific vehicle and are not part of the specification, but are merely for the purpose of comparing different vehicle types. the figures are provided in accordance with the German regulation “PKW-envKv” and apply to the German market only.

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The essence of versatility is a full-blown off-roader that still

feels right when you’re heading for the opera, dressed to kill

24 25

a u t o m o t i v e

STRIKING GOOD LOOKS even in the background, some profileswill always stand out from the crowd.

24 25

udi Klein was an eccentric

guy with a brusque side

that was easily roused. Peo-

ple who knew him tell of his

hostility towards outsiders

(like me) who came asking

questions about his cars. A former butcher of

German extraction, Klein set up shop in Los An-

geles in 1967 as a purveyor of extremely rare

A U T O M O T I V E T A L E S

Trash totreasurei llustr at ion 500 gls

For many years, Rudolf Caracciola’s Mercedes-Benz 500K was effectively registered missing. U.S. reporter Michael Mraz set out in search of the legendary car, picking up a trail that led to a dusty Los Angeles salvage yard.

rcar parts for restorers and wealthy collectors.

reacting with characteristic pique to an ap-

plication for an injunction tabled by a German

sports car manufacturer, he renamed his firm

Porche Foreign Auto.

Since Klein’s death in 2001, his two sons, Jason

and Ben, have overseen the family business,

and I have them down as my next port of call.

Buried within their melting pot of metalwork,

you see, lies a trove of

automotive treasure. My

information is that here, perched

on a set of flat tires and covered in grime, sits

the Mercedes-Benz 500K that was built in 1935

for German racing star rudolf Caracciola (1901-

1959). Informed estimates put the rare four-

wheeler’s potential auction value at a cool 10

million dollars.

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A u t o M o t I v e

vine, California – felt like he’d stumbled onto the

set of an offbeat film noir, when he came across

“all these ultra-exotic vehicles rotting away in

front of my eyes”.

If cars could tell their own stories, the 500K

would treat us to a real crime yarn. The tale be-

gins in 1930, during the Mercedes-Benz Silver

Arrows’ era of domination in grand prix racing.

Racking up feats in the cockpit few others

Shades of an offbeat film noir The first few times I stopped by at Porche For-

eign Auto in South Central Los Angeles, I was

swiftly sent on my way again – politely, but in

little doubt that I had outstayed an already brief

welcome. The 500K had plenty of stories to tell,

Jason Klein told me. “But you’ll have speak to

my brother Ben if you want to know more.” The

problem was that Ben had absolutely no inclina-

tion to speak to me. So off I went to find another

of the select few who might have set eyes on

Caracciola’s 500K.

Well-known U.S. car collector Bruce Meyer re-

calls a past visit to the Kleins’ dilapidated ware-

house. There, wedged between the scrap, he

found vintage automobiles worth millions “piled

up like firewood”. Meanwhile, Mike Kunz – man-

ager of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Ir-

A POWERFUL PRESENT for Rudolf Caracciola, star racing driver of the 1930s.

33

the war – beneath a dung heap in Ethiopia. “It’s

incredible what you can find hidden under piles

of mess,” says Tom Hanson, car parts expert at

Mercedes-Benz Classic in Irvine, as he picks up

the story of the 500K. Long Beach-based Bugatti

collector Milton Roth acquired the 500K at auc-

tion in the early 1960s. In 1965, another owner

brought it along to Hanson’s father, Dale, who

had carved out a niche restoring luxury cars. The

car was in pretty shoddy condition: “We needed

two low-loaders just to keep all the parts of the

big old girl together,” recalls the now 86-year-

old Hanson senior. “It was only when you got up

close that it was recognizable as a Mercedes.”

Little more than a year later, Hanson had re-

stored the 500K and was presenting it to whoops

of excitement at the 1966 Pebble Beach Con-

cours d’Elegance; Hanson’s gem finished second

in its class at the classic car get-together. Over

the years that followed, the 500K won about as

many trophies at shows as Caracciola earned on

the race track. The Roadster made its last ap-

pearance at Pebble Beach in 1978, when it was

crowned best in class (the latest in a string of

successes). Not long afterwards, it was bought

by Rudi Klein – an outsider viewed in collectors’

circles as a bit of a horse trader – and the 500K

duly vanished off the radar.

Having pulled together the varying threads

of the story, I made another attempt to catch a

glimpse of the car in the metal. The Kleins’ place

may be just 350 miles (560 km) south of Peb-

ble Beach, where the 500K celebrated its most

recent major success, but it might as well be on

another planet. Mountains of scrap metal and

towers of used tires line the streets of South

Central Los Angeles. I ring the bell at the yard

and Jason Klein appears. I’m about to introduce

myself again, but he quickly interrupts me; he

knows who I am. Again he tells me I need to

speak to Ben, but Ben isn’t there. And “I don’t

run his diary for him.”

So far, so discouraging. However, after a few

unanswered phone calls, Ben agrees to email a

reply to my questions. Not that he answers my

request to see, or even photograph, the 500K –

apparently holed up in a warehouse outside the

Kleins’ main premises. He’s equally cagey when

it comes to another issue. Just over 10 years ago,

Mercedes set out to arrange a loan agreement

with the Kleins and give the 500K its own dedi-

cated room in the Museum. But the proposed

deal was cut adrift after Rudi Klein died in 2001.

With that in mind, I ask Ben Klein how he sees

the future for the one-off car with the fascinat-

ing past. Will Caracciola’s 500K embark on a

final voyage to its native land? Will this piece of

history be offered up for sale and be given the

chance to break auction records? Or will it con-

tinue to eke out an existence as a dust collector?

Ben Klein remains tight-lipped. But he does let

an intriguing little nugget slip when I ask him

whether his father was more proud of the 500K

than his other automotive beauties. “That’s for

sure,” writes the son of the former butcher, who

perhaps wasn’t quite the hard-hearted bruiser

his reputations suggests. “He carried a photo of

the car in his wallet.”

could match was Rudolf Caracciola, who tasted

glory in the German Grand Prix on six occa-

sions. It is a record that remains unbroken to

this day (even Michael Schumacher has “only”

four Formula 1 German GP wins to his name).

As a token of appreciation, Mercedes presented

its celebrity driver of the 1930s with a 500K

“Roadster Limousine”, a stylish one-off model

custom-built for Caracciola’s personal use.

Sitting out the war in a dung heap Where the trail gets murky is the point at which

Caracciola and his Mercedes-Benz masterpiece

went their separate ways – and why. His chest-

nut-colored 500K eventually resurfaced shortly

before World War II in a Parisian luxury car

dealership. There it was bought by Benito Mus-

solini for his son-in-law, the Italian foreign min-

ister Galeazzo Ciano, who had played a valuable

role for the Duce in his occupation of Ethiopia.

In contrast to Ciano, who fell (fatally) from Mus-

solini’s favor, the 2.7-tonne (3-ton) car survived

via Paris and Ethiopia to Los Angeles. Next stop: private collection, museum or auction?

A u T O M O T I v E

34

A B L I N K O F A N E Y E and the power pours on again. The barely perceptible gear change takes

just 100 milliseconds or so. Even sports car purists would be forced to admit that not even the deftest

of hands could propel a shift lever through the gate with such alacrity. The Speedshift MCT 7-speed

sports transmission in the new CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake also double-declutches with a throaty

growl for a more dynamic edge and added pleasure. It all adds up to an automatic transmission that

sets pulses racing, while saving fuel, too.

1 P O W E R F L O W Multiple-clutch plates running in an oil bath ensure direct, spontaneous power trans-mission – a foreign concept to conventional automatic transmissions with their torque converters. This construction goes by the abbreviation MCT, standing for Multi-Clutch Technology.

1

Sporty, direct, efficient and smooth: the Speedshift MCT 7-speed sports transmission promises a flying start every time.words tob ias nebl i llustr at ions 500 gls

7 S T E P S T O H A P P I N E S S

Slick shifter

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3 R AC I N G S TA R TThe Race Start function turns every red light into a pole position. A simple press of a button prompts the electronics to maximize traction at the drive wheels and set the opti-mum rev speed for starting off. A quick flick of the shift paddle to confirm, then floor the gas – the transmission takes care of the rest.

4 L I G H T W E I G H T D E S I G NThe Speedshift transmission’s low rotating

masses mean extra agility. Magnesium is

employed to trim the weight to a benchmark-

setting 83 kilograms (183 lb). Another inno-

vative feature is the space-saving location of

the transmission control unit in the oil sump.

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2 F R E E D O M O F C H O I C EFour driving modes are available: the Controlled Efficiency mode saves fuel with early upshifts and a start/stop function. In Sport and Sport Plus, the transmission holds on to the gears for longer and downshifting becomes more dynam-ic. The Manual mode produces scintillating shift times on a par with Formula 1.

p e r f o r m a n c e

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s u c c e s s s t o r y

Sporting triumphMercedes-Benz has a long tradition of building powerful two-door cars – quick, fleet-footed coupes with a penchant for the dynamic.words christof v ieweg photos/cgi rt t

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bursting with POwErand the agility to rouse the fun receptors, this Coupe turns every corner into an experience.

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m o d e r n

THE SHORT, CRISP TAIL,flowing lines and clearly defined wedge shape of the body lend a distinctive character to the Coupe’s design.

55

character, very much like the people who would

hope to buy them. The C-Class Coupe fulfills this

brief with a flourish, stealing the glance with its

flowing lines, arching roof and short, crisp tail.

A character line rises from the front wheel arch

towards the rear, lending structure to the car’s

flanks. It extends precisely into the upper edge

of the rear apron, which itself forms a seamless

continuation of the low-slung, wedge-shaped sil-

houette. The rear bumper was also designed spe-

cially for the C-Class Coupe. It creates a muscular

impression and defines the athletic appearance

of the two-door model – above all in the Sport

version, which ups the dynamic ante another

notch with options such as lowered suspension

and a rear spoiler. The C-Class Coupe embodies

what might be called expressive design with a

sporting edge, cut from a single mold.

Part of an established model family The Coupe’s lounge-style interior picks up the

exterior’s athletic theme. Among its foremost

sporting features are a leather-trimmed three-

spoke steering wheel and specially developed

front seats offering excellent lateral support –

oupes refresh the parts other cars

can’t reach. They blend sporting tal-

ent with elegance and style, and are

designed with connoisseurs of beauty

in mind. Their charms may have fallen on inat-

tentive eyes over years gone by, but now their

popularity is blinding.

Mercedes-Benz boasts an enduring reputation

for designing expressive cars fitting the coupe

template. While the early models developed in

Carl Benz’ and Gottlieb Daimler’s day were effec-

tively an evolution of the horse-drawn carriage,

the majestic supercharged “Kompressor” sports

cars of the 1930s penned the opening chapter of

what was to prove a resounding success story for

Mercedes Coupes. 75 years ago, Mercedes-Benz

presented the 320n, the great-grandfather of to-

day’s mid-range C-Class Coupe. And ever since,

one principle above all has held sway in Stuttgart

when it comes to Coupe design: individuality.

The company’s development engineers are keen

to ensure that their Coupe models are not just

Sedans with a sawn-off tail, but join the line-up

as stand-alone models in their own right. Indeed,

the aim is for them to have their own individual

even through briskly taken corners. Rear pas-

sengers, meanwhile, can relax into a pair of in-

dividual seats. The Coupe’s 450 liters (15.9 cu.

ft) (acc. to the VDA measuring method) of trunk

space is only 25 liters (0.88 cu. ft) short of that

in the C-Class Sedan, equipping the stylish

two-door Coupe impressively for epic shopping

trips and holiday travel, and allowing it to make

a compelling case as an everyday companion.

While its design majors on individuality, the

two-door’s technology points directly to mem-

bership of an established and successful model

family. The Coupe can be ordered with all the

C-Class’ state-of-the-art engines (from the fru-

gal 4-cylinder to the bubbling power of the V-8),

not to mention proximity radar, an emergency

braking system and other electronic aids which

spring to the driver’s assistance in critical situa-

tions. The optional multimedia system Comand

Online, meanwhile, ensures that the Coupe is

tuned into the Internet – as well as the sporting

instincts of its driver – at all times.

C

A fresh radiator grille design gives the car a distinctive face

s tat s

C-Class CoupeOutput range115–380 kW

Fuel consumption urban: 18.2–5.6 l/100 km (12.9–42.0 mpg)inter-urban:8.8–3.7 l/100 km (26.7–63.6 mpg)combined:12.2–4.1 l/100 km (19.3–57.4 mpg)

CO2 emissions

combined:286–109 g/km (460–175 g/mi)

Energy class G–A

The values stated were calculated according to the measuring methods specified in the currently applicable version of Directive 80/1268/EWG. The data do not relate to a specific vehicle and are not part of the specification, but are merely for the purpose of compar-ing different vehicle types. The figures are provided in accordance with the German regulation “PKW-EnVKV” and apply to the German market only.

w w w . m e r c e d e s - b e n z . c o m

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M O D E R n

s a f e t y

Blind spot zapper

m o d e r n

66

ook to the front, check the right and left exte-

rior mirrors; then, to make extra sure, a quick

glance back over the passenger seat backrest,

before finally, gingerly reversing out of a very

narrow driveway. Even if you religiously apply

everything once learned at driving school, an

element of the unpredictable always lingers –

whether it’s the rolling ball in your blind spot

or the child that’s running after it.

Moments like this are every driver’s night-

mare, especially in an SUV where the raised

seat position makes it difficult to spot every-

thing. Mercedes-Benz now promises to resolve

this dilemma with the aid of a 360° camera.

I test it out in a Mercedes GL: when I select

reverse gear, the camera system that is linked

to the Parktronic parking aid rises up automati-

cally. A crystal-clear view of the situation be-

hind my car appears in the display, alerting me

to any obstacles that are difficult to see from

the driver’s perspective.

LEven exiting a narrow

drive is no problem: nothing escapes the 360° camera

Reversing out or maneuvering in the dark – situations that call for skill and, even then, are never without risk. The new 360° camera has the answer. A practical test in the SUV.words jo cl ahsen photos steffen jahn

Better control of risky situations: the display shows everything, even what’s behind the car

Don’t look back – the camera above the license plate does that for you

67

A panoramic view: all-round safety in the GL

The inconspicuous lookout under the star shows the surrounding area when driving forward, too

The display shows obstacles at the front in positions that are

awkward for SUV drivers to see

m o d e r n

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I now switch to the forward view at the push of

a button, and then to the virtual bird’s-eye view.

I’m astounded by what I see, and compare the

image in the display with the real world outside

using the exterior and rear-view mirrors. It really

does match up – looking round the vehicle, ev-

erything is exactly where it is shown in this view

from above.

Sharp, high-resolution picturesIt’s all down to the camera system’s four “eyes”,

located at the front in the radiator grille, on the

bottom of the exterior mirror housings and above

the rear license plate. Positioned behind the one-

megapixel lenses are powerful CMOS sensors,

which compile the information into configurable

images with the aid of metal-oxide semiconduc-

tors and the Comand system. 180° fields of vi-

sion in each case guarantee an all-round view in

sharp resolution, meaning you can say goodbye

to blind spots. These four lookouts miss nothing

in an area three meters (approx. 10 ft) to the

front or rear of the car and two and a half me-

ters (approx. 8 ft) to either side. Absolutely noth-

ing – even at night-time, thanks to the infrared

headlights.

Furthermore, dynamic yellow guidelines ap-

pear, indicating the best line to take in order to

safely pilot the car through the tight space. In

theory, I could now rely on just the all-seeing

technology to navigate my way out of the nar-

row gateway, but in fact I keep checking the

mirrors as well as watching the display. The GL

has barely reached the sidewalk after reversing

along the wall when I see the camera’s field of

vision open up to reveal the view to the left and

right of the gateway.

It’s fair to say that the view is vastly superior to

what you can see with your own eyes. It’s as if

you’ve switched from flying by sight – with the

help of radar – to instrument flight, and it gives

me a sense of reassurance that I have never felt

before in such situations.

But there’s more: switching the display to split-

screen mode minimizes the GL’s size – virtually

speaking, of course. The vehicle’s flanks, more-

over, can be pushed together electronically to

remove any trace of the interior from the image,

while the areas to the left and right are moni-

tored with hawk-like eyes. It’s even possible to

depict views that are not actually physically pos-

sible: for instance, the camera system can pro-

vide imagery from a height of over three meters

(10 ft), even when the parking deck ceiling is

just a few inches overhead. One especially prac-

tical touch is the flap that masks the eye at the

rear while driving to protect it from rainwater

or slush. The flap opens again automatically as

soon as the 360° camera is activated.

Besides guarding against damage to the body-

work, the cameras join forces with the steering

motors to help me to find a parking space as well.

The 360° camera system in a Mercedes-Benz

GL can offer more peace of mind than any other

assistance system, even in tricky maneuvering

situations. And it helps to banish those night-

mare moments.

FOUR EYES INSTEAD OF TWO allow views to be visualized which cannot physically be seen.

Bird’s-eye view: the camera in the exterior mirror (top) and the yellow guidelines (right) help with tricky maneuvering situations

Output range190–410 kW

Fuel consumptionurban:15.8–8.1 l/100 km(14.9–29 mpg)inter-urban:10.3–6.9 l/100 km(22.8–34 mpg)combined:12.3–7.4 l/100 km(19.1–31.8 mpg)

CO2 emissions

combined:288–192 g/km (463–309 g/mi)

Energy classE–B

The values stated were calculated according to the measuring methods specified in the cur-rently applicable version of Direc-tive 80/1268/EWG. The data do not relate to a specific vehicle and are not part of the specification, but are merely for the purpose of comparing different vehicle types. The figures are provided in accordance with the German regulation “PKW-EnVKV” and apply to the German market only.

s tat s

GL-Class

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