The German icon Mercedes-Benz G-Class has undergone all sorts of extreme and bizarre metamorphoses over the years, but the latest project by the Middle Eastern tuning studio Venuum has literally blown up the ideas about the luxury SUV. While in Stuttgart they are still thinking about the next official generation of the open "Cube", the Arab designers decided to get ahead of the curve. The result is the Mastodon V4 – a limited and frighteningly aggressive convertible that throws into the trash a large part of the model's classic design lines.
Unlike projects by competitors like Mansory, which usually preserve the recognizable face of the model, the tuners from Venuum have approached with a swing and have rewritten the exterior from the ground up. From the factory body of the Mercedes-AMG G 63, only the outer door panels have actually remained intact. The real shock for purists, however, is at the front – The iconic round headlights, which have been the trademark of the model for decades, have given way to rectangular, strict-looking LED optics. The front is brutally bloated with a completely new radiator grille, a different engine cover and a complex front bumper, overflowing with forged carbon elements.
The muscular drama continues in the profile of the SUV. The machine stands on colossal alloy wheels, hidden under greatly widened fenders, and the side sills are also sculpted from the expensive carbon composite. Interestingly, despite the visual impression of a shorter wheelbase, the car has retained its practical four-door configuration, providing easy access to the passenger compartment.
The big attraction is naturally concentrated in the rear. The hardtop has been completely cut off to open up the sky above the passengers' heads. The leaked renders show that a folding black textile section is planned above the heads of the rear passengers, which will save the situation in unexpected weather conditions, although the studio is still hiding what exactly the car looks like when fully closed.
The interior has been transformed into a real scream of extravagance, relying on a flashy two-tone combination of deep yellow and black genuine leather. Instead of a classic rear seat, two separate "armchairs" have been installed in the rear, separated by a specially designed center console. As you might guess, it is also richly decorated with pieces of forged carbon.
For the time being, Venuum prefers to shroud the technical heart of the Mastodon V4 in mystery, and it is not clear whether the factory 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine is still working under the hood or its power has been additionally "pumped". Only one thing is clear - the number of copies produced will be strictly limited, and the price will be affordable only for oil sheikhs and multimillionaires who like to demonstrate high status and eccentric taste on the streets of Dubai.