The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is a peerless design classic. Over 40 years the car has remained almost unchanged. It has become a luxury icon on its own. And in time the popularity and the fanbase grew massively. So the challenge for every brand communication is to stay cutting-edge without losing the heritage of the car. Being innovative and telling something new, always buys the risk of irritating a loyal community.

From all the Mercedes-Benz cars, no other is more admired than the G-Class. It’s the design and the legacy of the car which makes the drivers passionate and the fanbase loyal and prideful.

On the same side the G-Class community consider themselves innovative and cutting-edge. And if the communication wants to be thriving too, it certainly needs to be striking - and might break with some golden rules.

After 40 years of unchanged design it was time for a radical rethought of the G-Class.

To do so we started a collaboration with one of the most in-demand fashion designers: Founder of the Label “Off-White” and Louis Vuitton Artistic Director: Virgil Abloh.

Together with Mercedes-Benz Chief Design Officer Gorden Wagener, Abloh should do what the car brand didn’t dare to do in years: Redesign one of the most fashionable classic cars of the world: the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

The “Project Geländewagen” is a radical approach to redefine luxury and the timeless design of the G-Class. In the collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, Virgil Abloh turned the off road icon into a racecar. Therefore he stripped off nearly all unnecessary materials of the G-Class. He put racing tires and body claddings on, and changed the whole interior by using a racing steering wheel from the Formula 1 and racing seats from the Mercedes-Benz DTM cars.

The final artwork was a luxurious car in a deconstructed way.

The unique car was revealed in an online Live-Show with Abloh. Also we created an AR artwork, so users could explore the car in their own surroundings. Abloh also deisgned highly limited racing gloves, gifted to chosen influencers. Additionally a home scale replica of the unique artwork were brought to auction at Sotheby's.

The original car instead will be part of Abloh’s upcoming fashion shows.

The approach were extreme. And so were the reactions. Within days the campaign reached millions of recipients, arguing about the artwork. In total the campaign brought 60 million impressions, 3 million interactions and over 6 millon videoviews. The replica of the car raised over 200.000 $ at Sotheby’s for Education Funds, supporting young creatives.

But first of all the “Project Geländewagen” was a fashion statement for itself. It proves that the G-Wagon, the timeless icon of Mercedes-Benz, still remains the most fashionable car of the world and it continiues setting the standard of luxury and car design – even after 40 years of legacy.

With this progressive approach Mercedes-Benz also emphasize that the brand itself will always stay innovative, cutting-edge and will never be afraid of thinking radical.