79percent
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Remscheid / Germany
Vehicle(s): 300 GE
Posts: 537
| RE: Gelandefahrzeug Gesellschaft mbH
1972 - 1978 In the year 1972 Mercedes-Benz and the Austrian automobile-manufacturer Steyr-Daimler-Puch started the development of a new offroader. For this work the GFG - the Gelaendefahrzeug Gesellschaft mbH - was founded, of which both firms each owned 50%. The new fourwheeler, which was initially named H2 (Haflinger 2), was to be for military and civilian use. Also many parts were to be taken from the existing Mercedes-Benz cars and vans, to lower the costs. At the beginning the GFG hoped to get an order from the German army, which was looking for a follow-up of the DKW Munga. In 1976 than the German army decided to buy the VW Iltis, but the Shah of Persia , who had been a major shareholder of Daimler-Benz, ordered 20.000 units for his military. However, this task was canceled after a changeover of power of the local government again. Instead of this, the German Federal Border Police and the Argentine army ordered the first vehicles which secured further development of the offroader now christened as the "G". Orders from the Norwegian and Indonesian military followed. |
