Mercedes-Benz g-Class rendered

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is one of the most in-demand SUVs on the market at any price point, as evidenced by the $385K Mercedes-AMG G 63 being sold out for the past two years, so it’s no surprise the German car-maker is plotting a smaller ‘g-Class’ to sit beneath iconic off-roader.

But what might this baby G-Wagen look like?

Well according to Motor1 at least, the answer is a lot like a Suzuki Jimny 5-Door but with a G-Class-style front-end design – as you can see by the vehicle rendered here, which shares the long-wheelbase Jimny’s resolutely boxy silhouette.

Tipped to be based on Mercedes’ upcoming MMA platform and to be available with both internal combustion and battery-electric power, the baby G rendered here features a solid grille like that on the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQG, split by a full-width LED lighting strip that links the round LED headlights.

Underneath is a chunky front bumper featuring the obligatory square and rectangular air intakes, as well as a plastic skid plate for good measure.

Other features of note include a tapered bonnet, square front wings, bold character line and high-mounted indicators sticking out above the headlights.

The rest of the arrangement is clearly Jimny and, while the finished product will of course look more G-Class-like, it’s still an intriguing first look at what will undoubtedly be a big seller for the Stuttgart powerhouse – regardless of where it’s positioned or how much it costs.

Thing is, we’ve actually already seen a Jimny-based G-Class clone, right here in Australia and it was the real deal – not just some computer generated image.

Predictably sold now, a ‘Baby G’ Jimny surfaced for sale on carsales back in February with an uncanny resemblance to the G 63, save for the fact it was a three-door.

The hilariously novel but accurate creation even featured a side-exit exhaust, AMG wheels, G 63 badging, leather upholstery and a star-gazer headliner.

No changes were made to the running gear except for a modified exhaust, which of course made a mockery of the fender-mounted ‘V8 BiTurbo’ badging given the standard Jimny engine has only half the number of cylinders, less than a quarter of the capacity and none of the turbos of the real G 63’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

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