April 4, 2023

Project G - RENNtech Classic Performance

Classic restoration is becoming a significant part of RENNtech’s craft. The iconic G Wagen, in particular, holds a special place in the heritage of Mercedes-Benz. What you see is 1993 Mercedes-Benz G Class X461; a military vehicle that served for the Swiss Army.

In 2018, a client of ours imported this vehicle from the Netherlands, where it had undergone partial restoration and repaint in classic M.B. China Blue (934). Furthermore, the car had been fitted with a range of new components, including suspension, top, and a set of wheels, to bolster its aesthetic appeal.

Built for military purpose and off road travel, the Gelande Wagen (German terminology for G Wagen), was in a good shape but was severely underpowered for modern daily driving. Dyno tested at RENNtech, the 2.3-liter 4-cylinder M102 produced 70 WHP which good for traversing backroads of the Austrian alps, but not enough accelerate and keep up with South Florida highway traffic, so the owner turned to us create something more powerful for enjoyable and safe daily driving.

Being familiar with improving the performance and driving characteristics of G Class, we chose the rock-solid M.B. 5.5 liter M113 V8 -engine with 350 HP, and matching it to a 722.6 G 5 speed automatic for modern day performance.

The military purpose truck base is much different from road going vehicles, and the “little blue truck” will need several updates and modifications to fit the new powerplant and drivetrain, before the focus can shift to the development of a bespoke interior tailored to this vehicle.

Stay tuned!

Removing the original 2.3-liter 4-cylinder M102
Mercedes-AMG M113 5.5 -liter V8
G-Wagen ready to receive more power.
New motor mounts are part of fitting the V8 in place of the 4 -cylinder.