Mercedes Infuses the G-Wagen With Literal Diamonds

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

Here’s one for all you Romeos who conveniently forgot to get their Juliet something for Valentine’s Day. Mercedes-Benz is launching a new campaign featuring 300 examples of a G 550 studded with a quartet of 0.25-carat diamonds.

Yes, we fully expect spicier members of the B&B to break our comments section with new and inventive insults aimed at such a vehicle. Nevertheless, we will tell you Merc intentionally decided to release this rose gold SUV on February 14th, featuring a quarter carat diamond set into all four door locking pins. How this affects insurance premiums in tonier parts of town is yet unclear, since there are now thousands of dollars of diamonds in plain sight of any nefarious passerby. Perhaps people who buy these types of vehicles don’t need to sully themselves with such thoughts.


At the very least, if an owner finds themselves in an unexplainable jam at the gas station in which their platinum card doesn’t work, we suppose they can pry one of the diamonds out of the door locks and leave it as collateral.


Other, erm, unique addenda on this G 550 variant include the expected littering of special insignia on places like the passenger grab handle and illuminated door sill plates. Even the key has a silver badge design bearing the name of the special edition and a diamond emblem. There’s no mention of any powertrain changes, so don’t expect portal axles or a million horsepower engine to carry this thing to your Valentine. In case you’ve forgotten, a standard G 550 utilizes a 4.0L V8 engine making 416 horses and 450 lb-ft of torque.


Now you’ve clicked on this story, the internet will surely store infernal cookies somewhere and bombard you with ads for this thing from now until the end of the month as part of Merc’s advertising campaign surrounding this vehicle, which starts today. No pricing was mentioned but a carat of diamonds can cost upwards of $20,000 for high quality gems.


[Image: Mercedes-Benz]


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Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Feb 14, 2024

    I have some diamond tip screwdrivers. Don't use them very often.

  • Sobhuza Trooper Sobhuza Trooper on Feb 15, 2024

    I used to think that $20,000 Rolexes must be great watches, until I found that much of that was due to the precious stones glued onto them. That's when I decided that the watch to aspire to was the Patek Philippe.

  • CM Korecko Cadillacs, traditionally have been opulent, brash and leaders in the field; the "Standard of the e World".That said, here's how to fix the brand:[list=1][*]Forget German luxury cars ever existed.[/*][*]Get rid of the astromech droid names and bring back Seville, Deville, Eldorado, Fleetwood and Brougham.[/*][*]End the electric crap altogether and make huge, gas guzzling land yachts for the significant portion of the population that would fight for a chance to buy one.[/*][*]Stop making sports cars and make true luxury cars for those of us who don't give a damn about the environment and are willing to swim upstream to get what we really want.[/*][*]Stop messing around with technology and make well-made and luxurious interiors.[/*][*]Watch sales skyrocket as a truly different product distinguishes itself to the delight of the target market.[/*][/list=1]
  • FreedMike Not surprisingly, I have some ideas. What Cadillac needs, I think, is a statement. They don’t really have an identity. They’re trying a statement car with the Celestiq, and while that’s the right idea, it has the wrong styling and a really wrong price tag. So, here’s a first step: instead of a sedan, do a huge, fast, capable and ridiculously smooth and quiet electric touring coupe. If you want an example of what I’m thinking of, check out the magnificent Rolls-Royce Spectre. But this Cadillac coupe would be uniquely American, it’d be named “Eldorado,” and it’d be a lot cheaper than the $450,000 Spectre – call it a buck twenty-five, with a range of bespoke options for prospective buyers that would make each one somewhat unique. Make it 220 inches long, on the same platform as the Celestiq, give it retro ‘60s styling (or you could do a ‘50s or ‘70s throwback, I suppose), and at least 700 horsepower, standard. Why electric? It’s the ultimate throwback to ‘60s powertrains: effortlessly fast, smooth, and quiet, but with a ton more horsepower. It’s the perfect drivetrain for a dignified touring coupe. In fact, I’d skip any mention of environmental responsibility in this car’s marketing – sell it on how it drives, period.  How many would they sell? Not many. But the point of the exercise is to do something that will turn heads and show people what this brand can do.  Second step: give the lineup a mix of electric and gas models, and make Cadillac gas engines bespoke to the brand. If they need to use generic GM engine designs, fine – take those engines and massage them thoroughly into something special to Cadillac, with specific tuning and output. No Cadillac should leave the factory with an engine straight out of a Malibu or a four-banger Silverado. Third step: a complete line-wide interior redo. Stop the cheapness that’s all over the current sedans and crossovers. Just stop it. Use the Lyriq as a blueprint – it’s a big improvement over the current crop and a good first step. I’d also say Cadillac has a good blend of screen-controlled and switch-controlled user interfaces; don’t give into the haptic-touch and wall-to-wall screen thing. (On the subject of Caddy interiors – as much as I bag on the Celestiq, check out the interior on that thing. Wow.)Fourth step: Blackwing All The Things – some gas, others electric. And keep the electric/gas mix so buyers have a choice.Fifth step: be patient. That’s not easy, but if they’re doing a brand reset, it’ll take time. 
  • NJRide So if GM was serious about selling this why no updates for so long? Or make something truly unique instead of something that looked like a downmarket Altima?
  • Kmars2009 I rented one last fall while visiting Ohio. Not a bad car...but not a great car either. I think it needs a new version. But CUVs are King... unfortunately!
  • Ajla Remember when Cadillac introduced an entirely new V8 and proceeded to install it in only 800 cars before cancelling everything?
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