In an increasingly... "industrialized" industry, it's good to know that there is still some romanticism left. It was from this romanticism, passion for off-roading and “home DIY” that this Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain 4×4² was born. Then everything got complicated, but here we go…
As we wrote here a few months ago, the initial idea came from the imagination of Jürgen Eberle, one of the engineers responsible for the development of the new E-Class family. His initial idea was to transform a Mercedes-Benz E400 All-Terrain into a machine with real skills throughout -the-terrain, capable of facing up to a G-Class. All without Mercedes-Benz knowledge.
Why this project? Jürgen Eberle revealed to the Australian publication Motoring that has already led it, “he was bored with his jeep and that there is still a long way to go before the new G-Class hits the market”. So for six months, he spent hours and hours of his weekends scratching his head and finding a way to bring this project to "good port".
The beginning of the «headache»
What started out as an under-ambitious project quickly turned into a conceptual nightmare. The original idea was relatively simple: add some protections to the bodywork and reprogram the air suspension software to go up another 40 mm.
The problem came later. He was not satisfied with the result obtained. That's when he remembered to exchange the original All-Terrain E-Class axles for the gantry axles of the Mercedes-Benz G500 4×4².
What are gantry axles?
Gantry axles are, in practice, gears located close to the wheel hub, which allow to increase the free distance to the ground. The axle of the wheel no longer coincides with the center of the axle and the result is a much higher ground clearance without compromising the height of the bodywork.
The problem is that this solution is simple in theory but complex in practice — let's say it's equivalent to trying to breed a Chihuahua with a Serra da Estrela. After a few sleepless nights, Jürgen Eberle decided to ask his colleagues for help and financing from Mercedes-Benz. His once personal project started to be cherished within the brand.
With the help of his colleagues, Jürgen Eberle eventually developed the world's first gantry axle multilink suspension scheme. Not bad for a project born in a garage… However, the E-Class 4×4² All-Terrain still has some gaps: it doesn't have gears or differential lock. But it has an unshakable presence!
It's time to move to production
The impact of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain 4×4² has not diminished over the months. New rumors reinforce the possibility of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain 4×4² go into production, in a limited edition — with no scheduled sales date yet. If produced, this model will join the well-known G 500 4×4², G63 6X6² and G 650 Landaulet.
