German designer Philipp Plein and Mansory joined
forces to work on the all-new Mercedes-AMG G63 and showcase a highly customized
finished product in Geneva. There will be a limited edition run of just 20 units, with each car
taking some six weeks to build. Instead of the stock G63’s 585 PS,
this one makes a whopping 850 PS, while peak torque was bumped from
850 Nm to 1,000 Nm. As a result, the Star Trooper will
hit 100 km/h in a claimed 3.5 seconds.
There’s nothing conservative about this G-Class.
From the single-piece M23 forged wheels to the Military-style wrap, carbon
fiber elements, new logos or the custom interior, everything is there to
attract attention – hence the £ 500,000 (US$ 655,000) asking price.
According to Plein, his passion for cars started at
a very early age and never let up. “I have a picture of myself with
a toy car under the Christmas tree at four years old,” said the designer in an
interview with GQ. “I think that’s probably when I fell in love with them. All
boys are fascinated with speed and for me there are four things that drive the
men’s market: fashion, girls, cars and sport.”
That’s not to say that the Star Trooper is only for
men. “We’ve built a little step into the car for ladies. If your girlfriend
wants to drive it than it should really be easy for them to get into.” Finally, he explained why it
takes so long for each car to be made, stating that “even the painting process
alone takes three weeks.” “Nearly everything is custom made. We originally wanted to call it
the Star Wars edition because of the red LED lights in the ceiling, which you
only find in the Rolls Royce, but legally that name is already owned so we
settled on Star Trooper instead.”
