Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6, First Impressions

Are you intending to make your next-door neighbours Rolls-Royce look like a Matchbox toy? Are you a dictator who does not tolerate being dictated to? Do you wish to induce the fear of God in the unfortunate soul who happens to glance upon their rear view mirror when you are behind them? If your answer is yes to one, or even all of those three, then Mercedes-Benz likely produce the only car that will completely satisfy your inner child. And by “car” I mean road legal monster… The Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6.

Dominating your screen right now is a Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6. Words are hardly sufficient to describe this biblical behemoth produced by the German’s slightly nutty AMG division. Let us start with numbers because we can all understand something quantifiable. It weighs 3,775KG. That is more than an adult female African elephant! It is powered by a 5.5 litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine that produces 536BHP and 560lb-ft of torque. It has 6 wheels, 5 locking differentials, 4 side exiting exhaust pipes, costs 3 times as much as a standard G63 AMG (at £380,000), has two turbos and if you took out the huge spare wheel from its loading bay… Will easily fit a partridge in a pear tree.

Thanks to the ever helpful staff at Mercedes-Benz World Brooklands, we were given access to a car of which there is only one in the UK, at this moment in time, and just 32 in the world. The Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6 began as a military vehicle designed for the Australians. The highly capable off-roader in Army guise has a 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine, but then AMG decided that Wednesday afternoons should be more exciting and so plonked one of their engines into it. Prototypes impressed and once a buyer or two was found, Mercedes decided to produce the 6×6 AMG by order.

Obviously this military grade Goliath sports all of the creature comforts a wealthy man or woman could desire. Hiring a small crane to lift you into the exceedingly high driving position, you find yourself bathed in the usual Mercedes-Benz luxury. Seating four with plenty of space, the interior is beautifully upholstered to the same levels as all AMG cars. Above the driver sits a series of gauges used to inflate and deflate all six tyres dependant on what the terrain demands. A 7 speed automatic gearbox is at your fingertips transferring power to all six wheels. The 6×6’s top speed is 100MPH, not that you would want to go any faster in something this vast, but its limitation isn’t electronic. The 37 inch wheels are the cars limiting factor in terms of terminal velocity.

The Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6 is an astonishing thing to look at with its flared carbon fibre wheel arches, 6 wheels and sheer size. It has some sort of gravity about it as everyone who looked at it struggled to detach their eyes from this beast. Another typically mad moment from AMG? Maybe, but the world is a much more exciting place thanks to Mercedes putting the 6×6 on the road.