The rugged Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon is set to lose its roof – again – as the German brand expands the G-Class family.
The first official convertible version of the latest Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been confirmed for showrooms, and it could come to Australia.
It is the latest in a long line of open-top G-Wagens, which, when launched as a civilian off-roader in its original form in 1979, offered a three-door short-wheelbase convertible as one of the five body styles available.
The soft-top was offered in many markets as part of the W460 (1979-1991), W461 (1992-2022), and crossover W463 (1990-2018) generations – most of which were two-doors – culminating in the G500 'Final Edition' cabriolet in 2014.
In 2017, Mercedes-Benz introduced a limited-edition (99 units) Maybach G650 Landaulet, which saw an extended-chassis five-door G-Class score the rear-section of the short-wheelbase convertible – including the powered fabric roof and pillar buttress.
While various customisers have offered open-roof variants of the current G-Class, Mercedes-Benz has not had another official variant until now.
At the 2025 Munich motor show, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius announced: “We are expanding the family further, a G-Class cabriolet is coming.”
A silhouette of the forthcoming G-Cabrio was teased, showing what looks like a standard wheelbase W465 G-Class with a notched rear section, similar to a Jeep Wrangler.
The announcement was made alongside confirmation that the first prototypes of the more compact 'Little-G' SUV will begin on-road trials this year.
An image representing the three G-Class family members shows the smaller G-Class to be more in line with the GLB than its slab-sided parent.
The cabriolet wears the same rear-mounted spare tyre as the standard G-Class, but is shown – with limited detail – to have a higher rear window line, likely to accommodate the folding top.
Will the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Cabriolet come to Australia? In the presentation, Kallenius said the cabriolet “will be sold in almost every market around the world”, hinting that all current G-Class regions, including Australia, will be in line for the convertible.
Mercedes-Benz has sold 306 G-Class vehicles this year – split between 239 AMG G63s, eight G450d vehicles and 59 G580 electrics – an increase of 9.3 per cent on the same time last year.
The German brand has sold an average of 38 G-Class SUVs per month so far this year, a figure second only to the record sales year of 2021, when a total of 594 G-Class examples were sold, an average of nearly 50 per month.
With over 20 years of experience in digital publishing, James Ward has worked within the automotive landscape since 2007 and brings experience from the publishing, manufacturer and lifestyle side of the industry together to spearhead Drive's multi-media content direction.
