G-Wagen Induces Dizziness With Dam Driving Antics — Did Merc Just Invent Anti-Grav For Cars?

The Mercedes G-Class is one of the best-known off-roading sports utility vehicles on the planet right now. Now, Mercedes has demonstrated just how crazy the G-Class can be while going offroad by driving it across one of the sides of the 331-feet tall Punta Negra Dam in the San Juan province of Argentina.

The Punta Negra Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the San Juan River, which lies around 28kilometres to the west of the city of San Juan. The large dam stands 331 feet (101 metres) tall and is 2,297 (700 metres) feet long. The dam is used to generate electricity and also provides water for irrigational purposes.

What makes the video above even more stunning is the fact that G-Wagen used in the video is not even the manic AMG version. Instead, Mercedes did the lateral the G 350 d, the base variant of the G-Class SUV. The G 350 d is powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six diesel engine that cranks out 282bhp and 600Nm of torque.

The engine sends power to all four wheels via a 9-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel-drive. The transfer case of the G-Class is flange-mounted directly onto the gearbox and sends 60 per cent of the torque to the rear axle and 40 per cent to the front unit. The low-range off-road reduction gear increases torque to the driven wheels, which allows the G-Class to cut through difficult terrain.