He added: “The G is a very special, authentic car, and the ‘Mini G’ has to be authentic. So I cannot take just a platform, I cannot take an existing platform; I have to create my own. It’s a completely new development.”
Schäfer called the platform a “miniature ladder-frame chassis”, which he described as being “not ladder-frame [to the G-Class’s] extent”, but with similar qualities “when it comes to suspension and wheel size”.
Schäfer also revealed that the ‘Little G’ will use a significant number of unique components – “far more than I ever wish to tell you”. These include most of the bodywork.
He said: “Over time, just looking at the car’s capabilities and what’s needed, I came to the conclusion that everything has to be unique, the whole upper body and everything.
“You know, I can’t even take a door handle from [the current] portfolio, because the G-Class has such unique door handles.
“So we spent a lot of time tuning this car, and over time we started to develop so many unique components to make sure it’s a very good-looking car and very capable.”
The G-Class is offered with both combustion engines and electric power, but Autocar understands the ‘Little G’ will be sold exclusively as an EV.
