If you ever wondered what makes the Mercedes G500 4×4² such a special car, watch this.

Mercedes USA is still toying with the idea of bringing in the crazy G500 4×4² in very limited numbers and Drive took a Euro model to Icon for a quick peek underneath its retina-scorching yellow body.

Turning a regular G500 into a 4×4² demanded the use of heavy duty portal axles, dual strut springs and adjustable dampers which are controlled from the cabin. The ground clearance is an astonishing 450mm (17.7in), with the fording depth to be up to 1 meter (39.4in).

As expected, the front and rear tracks have been increased by 299mm (11.8in). Power is coming from AMG’s twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine, making in this case 416hp which is more than enough to get this beast moving.

Jonathan Ward, Icon’s boss gets underneath the big Merc and makes some interesting observations about the choices made on the chassis and plenty more on the video linked below.

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