Mercedes-Benz has confirmed plans for a return of the G-Class cabriolet nearly a decade after the last open-top version of the hardcore off-roader was phased out.

In an announcement ahead of next week’s 2025 Munich motor show, where the new soft-top is expected to make a brief appearance as part of an update from Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius on future model strategy, the German car maker has said “the G-Class portfolio will be expanded to include a cabriolet”, offered “almost everywhere in the world – and for the first time also in the US”.

No launch timing has been disclosed, but the announcement recalls a lineage of open-air G-Class models stretching back to 1979.

Cabriolets have long been part of the G-Class line-up, with the first, a two-door short-wheelbase model, introduced as part of the original line-up in 1979 and produced up to 2013.

Later came the ultra-luxury four-door G-Class Maybach G650 Landaulet, introduced in 2017 with a 621bhp twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine and based on the high-riding G63 4x4². Produced in a limited run of just 99 units, it combined a front hard top with a rear folding roof section, individual rear seats set back in the chassis and a price close to £600,000 in the UK.

A darkened preview image of the new G-Class cabriolet released by Mercedes-Benz confirms a silhouette similar to the existing model, albeit with a shortened roofline. It features familiar G-Class styling cues, including a flat bonnet, outboard indicator units atop the front wings, an upright windscreen and external rear-mounted spare wheel, but with subtle detailing that hints at a folding roof mechanism integrated into the rear.

Technical details have yet to be released, though the new open-top off-roader could conceivably be offered with a choice of diesel, petrol and electric drivetrains.  

The current G450d diesel uses a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six with 362bhp, while the G500 petrol model has a turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder with 443bhp. Above them is the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8-powered G63 with 577bhp as well as the electric G580 with 579bhp from four electric motors and a 116kWh battery.

The new G-Class Cabriolet is expected to carry a hefty premium over current models, which start at more than £130,000. 

At the previous Munich motor show, in 2023, Mercedes confirmed it was developing a junior G-Class, referred to by Källenius as the "little G". Smaller than today’s model, it is based on the same MMA platform as that used by the recently launched third-generation CLA and CLA Shooting Brake as well as other new models set to join the Mercedes line-up in the next 12 months, including the new GLA and GLB.