AFTER A LONG ABSENCE, it appears that Mercedes-Benz’s much-loved G-Wagen may be coming back to Australian roads soon.

An Australian Army contract for 1200 4×4 and 6×6 Gelandewagens was won by Mercedes-Benz in 2007, with the first cars due to be delivered to the Army this year. However, indications from Benz’s local office are that Defence Force personnel may not be the only Australians who’ll get to enjoy the rugged charms of the G-Wagen.

Despite a lacklustre first foray into the Australian market back in the 1980s, Mercedes-Benz has been working hard for a number of years to bring the G-Class back over here. It’s not locked in for a local release just yet, but Peter Fadeyev, Mercedes-Benz Australia’s Manager of Corporate Communications, told TMR that the G-Class is very close to getting the green light for Australia.

“We’re close to confirmed,” Mr Fadeyev said.

“The G-Class is part of an on-going project that we’ve been looking into for some time. We’re closer than ever to securing it as part of the Australian model catalogue, but we’re not 100 percent confirmed.”

“It’s looking good, though. The mathematics of making the importation and selling of the G-Class work for our business needs to be sorted out,  but so far it’s looking good.”

As for what models will grace Aussie showrooms, it appears the diesel-powered G350 CDI will be the volume-seller.

“The G350 CDI is the main one. but we’re also looking at the G55 AMG and the G500,” Mr Fadeyev told TMR.

“Those last two at this point would probably be ‘order only’, however. They’re not vehicles that we would normally stock because they’re quite niche.”

Pricing has yet to be determined, but Mr Fadeyev says that a low-to-mid $100,000 pricetag “wouldn’t be out of the realm of reality”.

Import volume is yet another unknown for the G-Class. Enthusiast interest is high, but the amount of vehicles that would be shipped to Australia will likely be on the low side. Despite its indisputable off-road prowess, the G-Class is unlikely to form a cornerstone of Benz’s local lineup.

“It has something of a cult following in a number of different countries, but the numbers would be quite small in comparison to say, more popular models like the M-Class,” Mr Fadeyev said.

“I think we’d find more prestige buyers than we would off-road enthusiasts, and I think we would find a number of people who would have a similar buyer profile to the ones who buy the GL-Class.”

If you’re a fan of the venerable G-Wagen and are itching to get into the seat of the latest model, don’t hold your breath just yet: a solid release date is still to be decided.

Current estimates say the G-Class range should debut here sometime next year, but for those that can’t wait that long joining the Army is perhaps their best bet for getting some G-Wagen seat time.

GALLERY » 2009 Mercedes-Benz G-Class