Mercedes-Benz G 600 TE Screams Vintage Dakar Rally Produces

With hand controls, and almost nothing left of the original vehicle, this G600TE screams vintage Dakar.
 

“Once a race, always a racer,” claims Classic Driver. The racer they’re talking about is Clay Reggazoni. The F1 driver, had a decade long career in the sport cut short after being paralyzed in a grand prix crash in 1980. But when you’re always a racer, you’ll find a way.
 
The rigors and demands of Formula 1 would no longer be host to Reggazoni’s desire for speed. Instead, it would be the sand dunes of the desert. The vehicle you see here is a Mercedes G600TE. It did start out as a Mercedes G-Wagen. But by the time it hit the opening stage of the Paris-Dakar rally, it became an entirely different beast.
 

Oh sure, this 1988 Dakar Rally entrant started out as a G-wagon. But it soon gained a whole host of changes. Out was the 6-cylinder engine, and in went the M117 V8. But that too had been warmed over. AMG badging on the outside of the Mercedes gives you a clue as to who bored it out to 6.0 liters, and gave it an output of 331 horsepower and just shy of 390 lb/ft of torque. Quite the hammer.
 
Supporting that engine was a heavily revised chassis to accomodate the new powerplant, along with revised suspension to cope with the rally’s relentless undulations. On the outside, you’d almost not recognize it as a G-wagon. Lightweight fiberglass panels make for quick and easy access to all things engine, and recovery items in the back hatch.
 

As for Reggazoni? He helped to create the hand-controls needed to pilot the G600TE over the unforgiving terrain. Stick controls were needed for slowing down and speeding up. Gear shifting was done through a Mercedes automatic.
 
This particular G-wagon doesn’t have any illustrious racing pedigree as Regazzoni unfortunately crashed out of the 1988 race. But this G600TE’s importance in Mercedes racing history is a unique and interesting one without a doubt. It’s one of the first G-wagons ever made with a V8, and one of the first uses of a high level motorsport vehicle raced by a disabled race car driver. And there’s no price to put on that.