2001 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen G400 CDI SWB

Top of the range G400 CDi V8 SWB

Ex-petrolhead and musician Jay Kay

One of only 828 produced, all in left-hand drive

£8,500 engine overhaul at 'G-Wagen' in Reading only 3,000 miles ago

Revered and reviled in equal measure, the G-Wagen is one of those vehicles that seem to polarise opinions. Ugly and boxy to some, it is the most capable and best-engineered 4x4 of all time to others.

However, the facts speak for themselves: despite having a cripplingly high price tag right from its launch in 1979, the G-Wagen has won such a loyal fan base that it remains in production to this day, making it the longest running model in Mercedes history.

Available with a range of engines in both long and short wheelbase formats, its trump card was a set of three fully locking differentials, controlled by a profusion of knobs and levers, that gave it the ability to cross even the worst terrain that Planet Earth could throw at it. To prove the point, Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur won the world"s toughest rally, the Paris-Dakar, in a G-Wagen 280GE in 1983.

Considered essential equipment by the German military and emergency services (not to mention the Russian mafia, who like theirs bullet-proof), it also proved an irresistible security blanket to middle-class parents terrified that young Wolfgang might not make it to school on time.

First UK registered in April 2004, this beast is no ordinary G-Wagen, being a top-of-the-range G400 CDI SWB with a mighty twin-turbo 4.0 diesel V8 packing 250bhp and a humungous 413lb/ft of torque. One of only 828 made, all in LHD, it is finished in Tektite Grey Metallic with Orion Grey full leather interior and is packed full of luxury options including: COMAND operating/navigation system; air con; cruise control; heated electric memory seats; AMG alloys; multi-function steering wheel; electric sunroof; parking sensors; 6 CD multiplayer etc.

It has covered an indicated 90,300 miles with an excellent service history including six stamps in the book and a mass of invoices and old MoTs plus all its original handbooks. Featured in Mercedes Enthusiast magazine in September 2004, it so caught the eye of pop star petrolhead, Jay Kay, that he bought it in 2010 and kept it until 2015, treating it to an £8,500 engine overhaul at G-Wagen Reading in April 2015 at 87,016 miles.

Our vendor bought it from Jay Kay in 2015 and it remains in superb condition throughout with an MoT until November 2018 with no advisories recorded. Barely run-in yet and ready to take on any terrain you care to throw at it, this ultra-rare and ultra-capable bruiser is all the car you could ever need.