Mercedes-Benz Is Making A New Four-Door G-Class Cabriolet That Will Be Sold In America, Thank God

Ever since Mercedes-Benz released the totally redesigned G-Class in 2018, fans have been begging for the three-pointed star to come out with a new cabriolet model. Early W460 G-wagens were offered as simple convertibles akin to an old Jeep or Ford Bronco, but in the 1990s the W463 G-Class cabriolet was launched with a more unique design and a power-folding roof. Those convertible G-wagens were always pretty rare and expensive, and these days the later the year the more desirable and valuable they are, especially the Final Edition 200 that marked the end of cabriolet production in 2013 — when new they were around $150,000, but good luck getting one for under $500,000 now. (It doesn’t help that the cabrios were never officially sold in the U.S.) Then there was the completely outrageous Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet that had a stretched body, portal axles and ultra-fancy back seats. Only 99 of those were made, and they’re now worth well over a million dollars. 

Obviously Mercedes has been listening to its customers and paying attention to some of the aftermarket G-wagen convertibles that have been created over the past decade, because on Thursday the company announced that it’s making a new G-Class cabriolet, and it will be sold globally, including in America. That’s worthy of my longest yeah boy ever.

We have basically no information about the model yet, as Mercedes only released the one teaser image along with two sentences: “We are expanding the family further: a G-Class cabriolet is coming. We will offer the open-top G-Class in almost every market around the world, including the U.S.” That’s it, that’s all. But you’re in luck, because I’m a G-wagen nerd with Photoshop access, so I’ve enhanced the teaser image a bit to better show off some of the details.

While every previous convertible G-Class (Maybach aside) only had two doors, this new one will have four doors. Keeping the wheelbase and doors the same as a standard G will surely make the cabrio not only easier and cheaper to design and build but also easier and cheaper to crash-test and homologate, plus be an easier sell to more customers. It also seems like it will have a little triangular quarter window behind the rear doors like on the ’90s cabrios.

What I’m less sure about is how the top will operate. When the top was put down on old convertible G-wagens like the Final Edition 200 pictured below, the fabric roof was fairly bulkily folded at the rear end, but in this teaser the rear deck doesn’t seem to have that big of a visible soft top. Convertible top technology has certainly improved a lot over the past couple decades, so hopefully Mercedes has been able to find a way to package it better and look less ungainly. It also doesn’t seem like the rear seats are pushed back further than the C-pillar to be outside of the main cabin, so maybe this new model will have a fairly substantial cargo area. But could the seats be able to slide back for an even airier experience, or might there even be the option of Maybach-style recliners? Maybe! I hope so.

The vehicle in this teaser has the front bumper of an AMG G63, which is what I’d assume the cabrio will be based on (I bet the optional hydraulic suspension will help with the added weight of the convertible roof), but it would be awesome if Mercedes also offered it with the electric G580‘s powertrain. The Pope is definitely enjoying his one-off electric G-wagen cabrio.

Mercedes has said nothing about when the new G-Class cabriolet will be revealed, but I’m guessing it’ll be at some point in 2026. Monterey Car Week seems like a safe bet, but maybe Mercedes will do some blowout one-off reveal event like it did with the electric G last year. Regardless of when or where the convertible G-wagen gets unveiled, it will surely drain your wallet. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a starting price of close to $300,000, and I bet it will have even more customization opportunities than is already possible through Mercedes Manufaktur.

The brand certainly could build a finite number of G-Class cabrios as a limited edition model, but given how Mercedes is talking up its global production, I don’t think that will be the case. The G-wagen already is a money printer, and adding this cabriolet to the lineup will be like upgrading from an old black-and-white Xerox machine to a laser unit that creates glossy photo prints in color.

Mercedes-Benz