Begin your off-road adventure with the LEGO® Technic™ Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line

Tough, reliable, and packed with stand-out engineering, the Mercedes G-Class has been an off-road icon from the moment it first appeared on the 4x4 scene in 1979.

With its rugged utility and driving excellence, it’s designed to tackle the toughest terrain the world has to offer.

Now, you can commemorate the 45th anniversary of one of the world’s best-loved off-roaders with this rewarding 2,891-piece LEGO® Technic™ Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line set.

To find out more about how this feat of automotive engineering was designed, we spoke to Milan Reindl, Senior Designer on LEGO Technic.

So, fasten your seatbelt, and we’ll take you along for the ride.

The birth of an icon

The Geländewagen (or G-Class) is a formidable vehicle. It has conquered the Sahara Desert, mountains, jungles, the Arctic Circle, and even won the legendary 10,000km Paris-Dakar rally in 1983.

“It is one of the most iconic and capable off-road vehicles,” says Milan. “The car that serves every possible purpose from an ambulance to a proper utility off-road vehicle and it gets you everywhere you need to go.”

When the Mercedes team set about designing the original vehicle, they wanted rugged off-road capability and all-wheel drive. That’s why they gave the car 100% differential locks on a strong ladder-frame chassis, solid axles for high ground clearance, coil springs for better articulation (at a time when most heavy-duty vehicles still used leaf springs), plus lockable front and rear differentials.

Milan and his team found recreating these features a challenge during the making of this set, but he is proud of how they met the challenge.

“Making the suspension travel as excellent as on the real car was the biggest challenge. In the end, I believe our version can slightly outperform the real vehicle in terms of the angles the suspension travel can achieve. To do this, we needed to develop a new angle connector to achieve the slight incline on all the bodywork towards the roof, so you can find ten new connector parts in the door and tailgate frames.”

A famous journey

Since its release, the G-Class (known colloquially as the G-Wagen) has taken on many challenges. Like the time a German traveler took his 1988 G-Class (named Otto) on a 900,000km road trip across the world, visiting 215 countries in 26 years.

It more than lived up to the G-Class 1980s advertising slogan, “Where there is a G, there is a way”. His car is now displayed in the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart.

Now, while your LEGO Technic model is not going to need to cross the world, we still wanted it to have enough realistic detail that it could cross the wild carpeted terrain of your living room or possibly brave the frozen tundra of your kitchen floor in winter.

To make sure the model was as authentic as possible, Milan worked closely with the Mercedes-Benz design team.

“We built a proper friendship and discussed all the parts of the model for months. We even met twice in Graz, Austria where the real G-Class gets produced.”

As a result of this collaboration, the LEGO Technic G-Class vehicle is packed with authentic features and functions based on this world-renowned 4x4.

Lift the hood to discover the six-cylinder in-line piston engine, try out the gearbox with its drive, neutral and reverse settings.

The all-wheel drive lets you cross most surfaces, you can even steer with a working steering wheel, and raised suspension with central and rear-axle differential locks should help you navigate those tricky rugs.

It’s not all about performance, though – Milan and the team wanted to capture something of the interior too. So, you can open the doors and tailgate to view inside, then explore accessories, including the ladder, spare wheel and roof rack.

A perfect gift for everyone

Whether you’re a motorhead who buys every automotive set we release, or if you’re a keen builder looking for your next fun challenge, Milan and the team have created a model that’s certain to delight.

“The model has something for everyone,” he says. “Intricate functions as well as polished and detailed interior and exterior. Whether you are in for the mechanics or the looks, you will not be disappointed, and with almost 2,900 elements you are in for a treat that is educational and fun at the same time.”

„Mercedes-Benz“ and “Three-pointed star in a ring” are the intellectual property of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. 
They are used by The LEGO Group under license.