Up until last year, rapper Moneybagg Yo had a preference for red cars, but that shifted. After buying several black cars, he has just introduced everyone to his latest addition, which is a purple Mercedes-AMG G 63 Brabus.
Rapper Moneybagg Yo, whose real name is DeMario DeWayne White Jr., celebrated his 31st birthday on September 22. But he didn’t share his luxurious gift until September 25, when he introduced everyone to his new addition on social media.
His new whip is unlike the rest of his collection, in the sense that it comes with a bold, purple exterior with black accents. Prior to this, Moneybagg had a collection of red cars and has added several other black models within the last 12 months.
But the new one, a G-Wagen, clearly fits well in his garage. Although he didn’t give any details on the purchase, the vehicle it’s most likely a Brabus 800, based on the popular Mercedes-AMG G 63. It boasts a Widestar body kit, an auxiliary LED light unit on the roof and a new gloss black hood.
The G-Wagen drives through the gates of the Magna Steyr factory in Austria with a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged engine under the hood. The power plant delivers 577 horsepower (585 ps) and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm) of torque, sent to both axles via a nine-speed G-Tronic automatic transmission. With the upgrades, the Brabus version cranks out around 789 horsepower (800 ps).
Moneybagg Yo’s Brabus G-Wagen comes with purple aftermarket wheels from Forgiato and custom purple calipers with Moneybagg Yo’s record label, Bread Gang, on them. In a video showing it off, the rapper lets everyone know that that is “not a sticker,” and that he had it custom-made. Unfortunately, he didn’t give a look at the interior of his new SUV just yet.
The Mercedes-AMG G 63 Brabus 800 isn’t the only German car in his collection, as he already owns a Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 and a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.
The phrase “automotive art” is used sparsely and with great care and consideration, but it wouldn’t be amiss in this case. Meet the coolest G-Wagon tribute that ever was, the Ice G-Wagon.
The name pretty much says it all: this is a tribute car with a body made entirely out of ice. Even though it’s not the best car and not even the most impressive ice sculpture out there or the first ice car, the Ice G-Wagon still deserves a page in the automotive history books and at least 15 minutes of your spare time. The mere fact that it existed (in the Past Tense, sadly) grants it that very special position.
The Ice G-Wagon is the creation of enthusiastic mechanic Vladislac Barashenko and his team, both of whom you probably know already as the gearheads behind the popular YouTube channel Garage 54. When they’re not creating automotive Frankensteins out of Ladas, building new engines, or what-have-you, they also do jaw-dropping stuff like the ice SUV.
This is actually an older creation, which they revealed to the public in the summer of 2018 in a series of episodes that immediately went viral. This month (September 2022), they relived that adventure with a montage of those episodes and a tribute to the G-Wagon. It is sadly no longer among us (the ice bodywork, at least), but it will forever live in our collective memory.
The most peculiar thing about the Ice G-Wagon is that it wasn’t even a real G-Class. Barashenko and his team are based in Novosibirsk, Russia, so access to expensive Western cars is limited, to say the least. Garage 54 has a reputation for fabricating strange and awesome vehicles out of beat-up Russian cars and trucks, and this is no exception: for the Ice G-Wagon, they used the rolling chassis of a UAZ 469 light utility vehicle.
They did it “just for kicks,” Barashenko said at the time. They removed the body of the UAZ and power-washed the chassis, and proceeded to build a steel frame on top of it. The frame bore a remote resemblance to the boxy G-Wagon and was meant to add rigidity and prevent the ice bodywork from cracking and falling onto the driver. Then, they added an old engine and checked the electrics to ensure everything was in working order, and built a floor for the single seat of the driver.
For the next seven days, Max, a local sculptor with some experience in working with ice, would carve and shape the body of the SUV out of ice: they had about 10 tons of it waiting outside, in massive blocks stacked in piles. Work was meticulous and almost around the clock: Max and an assistant cut, shaped, polished, and glued the blocks, which used the steel frame as the basis. At the end of the week, they added wheels and a steering wheel from an actual G-Wagon, color-changing LED lights, and gave the final shape to the side mirrors and the windows, the latter of which doubled as access points.
The finished vehicle weighed in at 5 tons and was still drivable. That last part is perhaps the most impressive because Barashenko opted against upgrading the suspension or modifying the drivetrain, saying the project was too much of a “mess” to bother with modifying the basics for it. So, while the Ice G-Wagon was drivable, it was also very slow and had to be operated with extra care to prevent the bodywork from cracking due to vibrations over bumps.
At the end, the ice SUV was loaded onto a platform and, after a short but slow and “nerve-racking” journey, was put on display at a local park. Needless to say, the fact that it was made of clear ice and had underbody and roof lights turned it into a real sight, with people of all ages getting close to it for a better look.
The entire build process is summed up in the video below. It’s all that’s left of the Ice G-Wagon (*the metal chassis doesn’t count) because it “tragically melted in April 2018.” Pour one out for this old UAZ that got its Cinderella moment as the coolest G-Wagon tribute ever built.
The Mercedes G Class has been a status symbol for decades at this point. Much like one of its domestic counterparts, the Cadillac Escalade, the “G Wagon” has been featured extensively in music videos, news articles, and movies. Outside of the silver screen, it remains a popular daily driver choice among celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Floyd Mayweather, Cardi B, and Sylvester Stallone, among many others. Those who choose the G Class do so for a wide variety of reasons: eye-catching styling, luxurious interiors, and all of the cutting-edge technology one would expect in a flagship Mercedes. Plus, there’s a certain “je ne sais quoi” about these vehicles that seems to exude the aura of success. It hasn’t always been this way, with the luxury and refinements. In fact, if you were around to see the genesis of the G Class in the late 1970s, you might be surprised at just how far it’s come. While all models of the G Class have remained visually similar over the course of production, the creature comforts inside the cabin have come a long way. Let’s take a look at where the G Class started, and where it is today.
Dawn of the G Wagon
The year was 1972, and one of Mercedes’ largest stockholders had a novel idea for a new type of military vehicle. That stockholder was, in fact, the Shah of Iran (this was just before the Iranian Revolution), and his bill of requirements came specifically from the needs of his military in the rough desert climate in which they operated – and most notably, the need for a small transport vehicle with all-wheel-drive. Owing to the military contract nature of the platform and the need for utmost reliability and durability, field testing of the pre-production G Wagons took place in the harshest climates all over the world, including inside the Arctic Circle and in the Sahara desert.
The W460 Years
Initially, the G Class was delivered to the Iranian military as a four-door hardtop, but when Mercedes decided to roll it out to the civilian market as well with the W460 platform in 1979, there were quite a few configurations a buyer could choose from. These included two- and four-door models with differing wheelbases, as well as a windowless Kastenwagen (similar to what we know in the United States as a sedan delivery, or panel van). These early cars featured relatively small four- and six-cylinder engines of both gasoline and diesel types, with a maximum displacement of just 3.0L. This is a significant difference between the monstrous, 4.0L twin-turbo V8s that are used now, or even the V12 that finds its way into some current AMG models. The interiors of these early models is also incredibly bare-bones compared to what you’ll find at the dealer today. A small radio/tape deck was included, as well as a primitive climate control system, but that’s essentially all there is to them. The instrument panel is dominated by a large tach and speedometer, with a few warning lights and provisions for an additional gauge, if optioned (it appears most of them received temperature gauges). In keeping with the utilitarian nature of the military contract vehicles, you’ll usually find a manual transmission, as well as another lever to actuate the four-wheel-drive. Minimalist cloth bucket seats up front are a far cry from some of the quilted, supple leather interiors you’ll find on nearly every single G Class these days, let alone those from an aftermarket like Brabus or Lumma.
The W463 Years
This first generation W460 platform had an incredibly long production run by anyone’s standards. It existed, with the occasional update and upgrade, from 1979-1992, for a lucky total of 13 years. In 1990, the lineup became a bit more diverse with the addition of the civilian-focused W463. This was an extensive refinement of the W460, and this is when the G Class shifted market positions into the luxury class for good. The exterior styling remained very similar to previous years, but on the inside, fine wood trim and leather was incorporated throughout the cabin; the G Class now looked not only like a normal street car on the inside, but a top-dollar one at that. In addition to cosmetic upgrades, the W463 also received some much-appreciated powertrain improvements, and in addition to the small four- and six-cylinder motors from years past, also received a wide variety of V8 and even V12 motors to truly bring the platform into the 21st century. As in the previous generation, there was a wide variety of body styles still available, from extended wheelbases to short wheelbases, to pickups with six wheels, to two-door cabriolets. This iteration proved to be so successful that production continued on this series all the way through 2018.
Today’s G Class – For Work and for Pleasure
The G Class of 2022 is a culmination of almost 50 years of design and refinement (depending how you count it). While the interiors are far, far more swanky than could have ever been conceived by the designers working on a military contract vehicle for use in the Middle East, the character and utility of the iconic G Wagon remains intact with the second generation of the W463. As is always the case with new models, this is the physically biggest platform yet, and features all of the bells and whistles needed to not only keep it in compliance with the regulatory spiderweb that governs today’s auto makers, but to make it still tremendously appealing to anyone in the market for an ultra-luxe SUV. All of this is not to say the G Class has traded in its utility value, either, and it’s military roots haven’t been forgotten. To this day, customized (as well as relatively stock) G Wagons are used heavily by law enforcement agencies, most commonly in Europe, where durability and an expansive array of aftermarket solutions make them a top choice. The United States military even used a pickup variant as a Fast Attack Vehicle for remote units which need to carry heavy loads of supplies with them through rough terrain. There are also armored variants made for executive protection roles; one notable fully-armored G Wagon comes from, perhaps surprisingly, German tuner Brabus, who offers this service under their “Invicto” program. Although the G Class of today is not an inexpensive vehicle by any stretch of the imagination, it remains true to its rugged roots. The styling is iconic and has remained very consistent throughout the almost-50-year run, and a brand new G 63 or G 500 can still tackle any obstacles that a Jeep or Toyota can, and do it in more comfort and with more technology available at your fingertips. With the upcoming electrification of Mercedes-Benz over the next decade it remains to be seen exactly what will happen with the G Class in the years to come, but history suggests that enthusiasts can have faith that Mercedes will do their best to keep the ethos and history of the G Class intact as best as they can, for as long as they can.
No matter how bad they are, in the purest form of the word, Mercedes G-Wagens don’t normally belong in our LOL category. Or at least that’s what we thought, until we laid eyes on this one.
Anyone who knows a thing or two about Reddit might be tempted to think that we found it in their infamous ‘ugly’ car mods thread. But they’d be wrong, you see, because this particular example was made famous by rdbla on Instagram, earlier this week.
Thus, they are obviously proud of it, and truth be told, they did apply that rainbow wrap perfectly, if it was them who were responsible for the job. However, it is exactly this modification that makes it look like a unicorn’s yesterday’s meal that came out the wrong end (hey, at least I didn’t say ‘puke’ twice – wait…).
Wrapped around the entire body, including the face, hood, front and rear quarter panels, doors, pillars, and likely the tailgate, and rear bumper too, even though these are not visible in the short video embedded at the bottom of the page, this is one brash wrap, to say the least. And speaking of stuff that falls into the OTT category, at first glance anyway, we cannot ignore the wheel arches, with trim meant to resemble the usual black plastic.
However, as if you look closer, it has portal axles too, and this tells us that we are looking at the much rarer, and more expensive 4×4 variant. Thus, the fenders are stock, and so are the wheels with fat tires wrapped around them, and the roof attachment, above the front windscreen, with incorporated LED lights.
The blacked-out windows round off the makeover of what would have been a nice copy of the G-Class, if the owner didn’t want their ride to stand out like a sore thumb with that ‘unicorn’ wrap. At least it can be brought back to its original condition without too much effort.
Over the years, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been mostly linked to baddies in films. Most often than not, when you see a G-Wagen arriving in a movie scene, it’s either being driven by a mob boss or a henchman is chauffeuring them around in one.
It turns out it is also quite handy as a mafia service, here’s Exhibit A
For those who are looking to ride in a G-Class not only in style but like a big boss or a high-profile statesman, the Brabus Invicto has them covered. The level of armoring in this SUV is graded at VR6, which means it can protect its occupants against bullets fired from an AK-47 assault rifle or similarly powered firearms. It also comes with an optional ERV blast protection that is engineered to withstand detonation from an explosive. For short, the Invicto is quite a ride if you got plenty of enemies in real life.
What’s so impressive about the Invicto is that even with its additional 2,205 lbs. weight after the Brabus armoring, it can still sprint from 0 to 62 mph in just 8.2 seconds and it can reach a max speed of up to 130 mph. That’s thanks to its tuned powertrain that’s configured to deliver up to 800 hp and 1,000 Nm of torque. This provides a quick getaway when the going gets tough.
Last year, we saw Supercar Blondie driving the Brabus Invicto. The video here shows the amount of work it takes to produce one. Hit play on the video below to see how it’s made:
