The incoming ‘baby’ Mercedes-Benz G-Class will sit on a bespoke ladder-frame platform, use “nearly all unique” parts and sport a design that “is even more modern than the current car”, bosses have said.

The new SUV will arrive within the next two years and will be the entry point to what is planned to be a new range of models, with Mercedes turning the G-Class into a brand in its own right – in much the same way JLR has done with Range Rover.

Speaking at the Munich show, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius said test mules would be appearing on roads “very soon”. A new preview image of the incoming model’s rear end was also revealed.

The ‘Mini G’ will be based on a unique architecture, confirmed tech boss Markus Schäfer, in order to be “as authentic as possible”.

He added: “The G is a very special, authentic car, and the Mini G has to be authentic. So I cannot take just a platform, I cannot take an existing platform – I have to create my own. It’s a completely new development.”

Schäfer called the platform a “miniature ladder-frame chassis”, which he described as being “not ladder-frame [to the G-Class’s] extent”, but with similar qualities “when it comes to suspension and wheel size”.

Schäfer also revealed that the Mini G will use a signifi cant number of unique components, “far more than I ever wish to tell you”. These include most of the model’s bodywork.

He said: “Over time, just looking at the car’s capabilities and what’s needed, I came to the conclusion that everything has to be unique, the whole upper body and everything.

“You know, I can’t even take a door handle from [the current] portfolio, because the G-Class has such unique door handles.

“So we spent a lot of time tuning this car, and over time we started to develop so many unique components to make sure it’s a very good-looking car and very capable.”

The current G-Class is offered with both combustion engines and electric power, but Autocar understands the Mini G will be sold exclusively as an EV.

Asked about powertrains, especially an electric one, Schäfer was coy, stating: “Stay tuned. I don’t want to go in to this detail.”

The Mini G’s styling will be that of a “tweaked” G-Class, according to Mercedes design boss Gorden Wagener, which will make it “even more modern” than the electric G580 EQ that was launched last year.

Speaking about the design, Wagener said: “You cannot change the G much: it’s iconic. I like the new [current G-Class]: that’s a modern G.

“On the little one, we will give a slight tweak: a bit more sharpness, a bit younger [headlight] graphics but still circle. So really it’s details.

“But otherwise we stick to the G, and it’s a modern G – even a touch more modern than the big one.”

Asked if he wanted to be slightly more radical with the design, Wagener said the fundamentals had to stay the same: “You have to hold yourself back and understand what the icon is about. We strive for iconic design, and there is not such an iconic piece like the G.”