Mercedes-Benz G-Class Cabriolet to return with top chopped off iconic off-roader

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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