A D Wagen? YESSS!!!

[solmanic]

I wasn't sure whether this belonged here or in the non-Land Rover European manufactured area...

The New Land Rover Defender Manufactured in Austria? | Expedition Portal (http://expeditionportal.com/the-new-land-rover-defender-manufactured-in-austria/)

So perhaps those of us who already jumped ship to G Wagens were just a little too far ahead of the curve.

[MrLandy]

...perhaps indeed Solmanic. You reckon the D Wagen will be $100,000 new?

[solmanic]

I have a dream. A dream that someone will manufacture a solid axle, coil sprung 4x4 with Mercedes build quality, a strong, economical but simple engine, and minimal fluff. A 4x4 that, like a Defender, is a perfect blank canvas for any type of expedition vehicle but unlike a Defender, doesn't leak or have panel gaps small children can fall through.

Now such a vehicle does already exist (see below), but my dream is that Land Rover can manufacture it and sell it for around A$50K....

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh191/solmanic42/100925_orc.jpg (http://s256.photobucket.com/user/solmanic42/media/100925_orc.jpg.html)

Like I said, it's just a dream.

[cccp53]

Solmanic , I share your dream ( G - wagen PROFESSIONAL - this is the one )

[PAT303]

Just a question,why are G wagons so exxy?,small volumes pushing up the price?,if this goes through Land Rover cannot sell the defender for G money so how's that going to effect G wagon sales if the defender ends up a cheaper version of it?. Pat

[MrLandy]

Nice dream.:) If Magna Steyer manufacture the next Defender I'd be very surprised, but pleasantly so if it came out at $50,000. It would be a very smart move IMHO, but it would also devalue the GWagen.

Whatever it will be, it won't be the beautiful simple masterpiece the Defender grew to be. But let's hope it is worthy! Cheers brother.

[solmanic]

From what I can find, the G300 Professional is about EU66K (about A$95K) including tax, which is still expensive, but not absolutely ridiculous. Our LCT and local dealer delivery mark-ups then kill this of course pushing the price well above $120K if you could buy one here. That is then not a sensible price for a vehicle that comes without even a radio. I only know of one guy in Melbourne who managed to get a G300 recently through his company but he is staying tight lipped about what it actually cost him.

But assuming you could get one for the equivalent domestic European price, it's easy to see why they are so expensive. The bodywork feels like it's armour plated and the paint is so thick and hard that my wife totalled the door on a Subaru she parked next to when the wind blew her door open into it. Didn't even chip the paint on ours. Panel gaps are very large (by Mercedes standards) but they are dead straight and even. And the solid mechanical click when opening and closing a G-Wagen door is almost better than sex.

All the drivetrain components are massive, and 3x factory lockers make you feel invincible off road.

Finally, Mercedes know how to really suck up to customers regardless of which model they're driving wheras Land Rover just treat Defender owners as an inconvenience.

[solmanic]

Nice dream.:) If Magna Steyer manufacture the next Defender I'd be very surprised, but pleasantly so if it came out at $50,000. It would be a very smart move IMHO, but it would also devalue the GWagen.

I'm not so sure about that. If they can resist the temptation to up-spec the vehicle too much then they will be a long way apart on creature comforts and therefore targeting two completely different market segments.

[MrLandy]

I'm not so sure about that. If they can resist the temptation to up-spec the vehicle too much then they will be a long way apart on creature comforts and therefore targeting two completely different market segments.

I wonder how all the new Mercedes defence contracts would be affected?