Mercedes' Camouflage On The New AMG G63 Cabriolet Is An Exercise In Futility

The Breakdown

• The Mercedes G-Class Cabriolet is coming back, complete with an AMG version.
• Debuting soon, the G63 with a folding fabric roof keeps all four doors, side-exit exhaust, and the spare wheel.
• It's likely going to cost more than $200,000.

You’d think that after being around for decades, wealthy buyers would eventually get tired of the Mercedes G-Class and move on to something else. However, the venerable SUV is doing better than ever, with sales hitting a record last year as 49,700 Geländewagens were delivered to customers around the world. Originally derived from a military vehicle, the G is more of a status symbol nowadays, but its off-road capabilities remain intact.

Looking ahead, 2027 will mark the return of a fan favorite: the G-Class Cabriolet. Although Mercedes has been teasing the droptop version for a while, little did we know it would return as a high-performance AMG model. Ahead of its imminent debut, the AMG G63 with unlimited headroom appears in these pseudo-teaser images that practically reveal the entire vehicle. Yes, there is some camouflage here and there, but does it really hide anything?

While some had hoped to see the G-Class Cabriolet return with a shorter wheelbase and only two doors, the official images make it obvious Mercedes is bringing back the open-air version as a W465 with an electrically folding fabric roof. The spare wheel remains in place and now incorporates the mandatory third brake light, since the upper half of the rear door where it would normally sit has been cut away to make room for the folded roof.

 

Between the spare wheel and the folded roof, rear visibility doesn't appear to be great, but it's a sacrifice wealthy buyers will likely be happy to make. How wealthy? The standard 2027 AMG G63 already starts at $200,200 before options, and all signs point to the Cabriolet commanding a significant premium. 

The new AMG G63 Cabriolet appears to have a fully automatic roof, as we can't see anyone in the driver's seat when the top goes down. Previously, the driver had to manually release a pair of latches behind the sun visors before using a switch to raise or lower the roof. Whether it will be possible to operate the roof while the vehicle is moving remains unclear, although we imagine it would be limited to crawling speeds.

Mercedes is likely to fully reveal the AMG G63 Cabriolet in the coming days or weeks before Magna Steyr begins production in Graz, Austria, where the regular G-Class has been built since 1979.

 

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Motor1's Take: For years, Mercedes has left money on the table for tuners like Brabus to capitalize on with convertible conversions. Better late than never, it's finally launching its own G-Class Cabriolet to fill a gap in the lineup that has existed for more than a decade.

The only remaining piece of the G-Class puzzle is whether the company intends to offer the vehicle in a non-AMG guise at a lower price. For reference, the inline-six G550 is about $45,000 cheaper than the AMG G63 in the US. A more attainable variant would further broaden the model's appeal, especially if Europe's G450d and G500 were also offered with a folding roof.

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