<span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">How is it that in an era where the </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">car industry is advancing at breakneck pace, an antiquated vehicle with rigid axles and truck-like body-on-frame construction can not only remain in production, but also be regarded as a highly aspirational vehicle?</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">The Mercedes G-Class, or Geländewagen (German for cross-country vehicle) is </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">a head-scratching anomaly. Originally developed in the early 1970s as a military vehicle at the suggestion of the Shah of Iran, the G-Wagen continues to defy the passage of time, and </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">it </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">is still the go-to option for a vast array of military forces across the globe.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">At the other end of the scale, a white, leather-upholstered, twin-turbo V8-powered AMG G 63 serves as daily transport for Sheikh</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15"> Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and there's no shortage of other </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">buyers in the </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">country who have similar vehicles in their driveways.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">But here and now, in the middle of Australia's vast, barren Simpson Desert, I find myself behind the wheel of the G 350 d Professional, a vehicle that is the antithesis of the luxury-stuffed, brutally overpowered AMG G 63</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">. I have to make do with wind-up windows, a spartan, plastic-lined interior and modestly potent 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine with 245hp (rather than the 572 horses thumped out by the G 63).</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">This is essentially the same vehicle military forces use, and it's designed to be a go-anywhere, withstand-anything chariot fit for harsh environs such as </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">those in which I now find myself</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">. Accordingly, the G 350 d Professional has unglamorous 16-inch rims with knobbly all-terrain tyres, an extra 10 millimetres of ground clearance over the standard G-Wagen and greatly improved approach/departure angles to clear large obstacles. It also gets protective mesh on the headlights and indicators (optional), low-range gearing and good old-fashioned locking differentials (front, centre and rear) that enable the G Wagen to claw its way forward </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">regardless of what lies in its path.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">The G Professional is designed as a workhorse</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15"> – it can cart a 592-kilogram payload and tow up to 3,200kg. The cabin floor has an anti-slip surface with drain holes, so you can hose out the interior after a cross-Simpson dash. There's also a roof rack and ladder so </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">you can stash your camping gear each day after sleeping under the stars.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">Given the conquer-all-terrain job description of the G Professional, who better than explorer/extreme adventurer Mike Horn to have along as a travel companion? The South African-born Swiss has literally gone where no man has gone before, having completed a solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle in 2004, as well as an 18-month journey around the Equator without any motorised transport. He is currently in the midst of Pole2Pole, a two-year circumnavigation of the globe via the two poles (this </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">Australian leg is part of it).</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">With seemingly inexhaustible energy levels and a penchant for pranks and banter, Horn proves an inspirational expedition leader for our Simpson Desert safari, each day rousing us from our slumber (in one-person tents) with a booming "Good morning, Australia!" Unlike the usual brand ambassador</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">, he </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">embraces the experience and becomes an integral part of our small journalist</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15"> posse.</span> _______________________ <strong>READ MORE: </strong> _______________________ <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">I and the other journos in my group have joined the </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">safari at Mount Dare, almost smack-bang in the centre of Australia. From here, we </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">complete a 1,000-kilometre-plus trek via Dalhousie Springs (hot springs where we boil our bodies to a near pulp), then on to Old Andado cattle station and Finke (which gives its name to the Finke Desert Race – a fast, gruelling out-and-back dash from Alice Springs to </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">small Aboriginal community Finke</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">).</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">Our ultimate destination is the red monolith known as Uluru (also known as </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">Ayers Rock) that features on almost every touristy Aussie postcard</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">The daily regimen is punishing – not only for us, but </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">the vehicles, too. Each day, we cover hundreds of kilometres,</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15"> barely touching tarmac,</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15"> across tracks whose surface is layered with either endless bone-jarring corrugations, fine red bulldust that's synonymous with central Australia or deep, weaving ruts that bounce the G Professional from side to side like a fishing boat in a storm.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">Our bodies take a pounding, as do the G-Wagens, yet we maintain a brisk pace – a jolting 110kph cruise for the most part. There are few sections that are technically difficult in hard-core off-roading terms because </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">there are no massive boulders, swamp-like mud baths or waist-deep water crossings to tackle, yet the terrain is still punishing and requires maximum concentration to ensure the G doesn't end up in the scenery while barrelling along those lumpy, loose-surface tracks.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">Ultimately there are other vehicles – Toyota Land Cruiser, Jeep Wrangler et al – that could have safely completed the same trek, but it's the unflustered way </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">the Merc goes about its business and sheer bulletproof demeanour that has made it a favourite of military forces and the like.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="-15">Indeed, after almost four decades, it is so robust that even Mercedes-Benz can't kill the old warhorse.</span>