Magna Steyr will build the open-top G63 at the same Austrian plant that has assembled every G-Class since 1979.
Mercedes-AMG is bringing back the G-Class Cabriolet. It returns as a W465 with four doors and an electrically folding fabric roof. The base AMG G63 already opens at $200,200. The drop-top will cost more. Production starts at Magna Steyr in Graz.
The last factory-built G-Class Cabriolet disappeared from Mercedes' catalogue more than a decade ago, leaving Brabus and a handful of low-volume coachbuilders to satisfy demand at eye-watering markup. Global G-Class deliveries hit a record 49,700 units in 2024, according to Mercedes-Benz AG's Annual Report 2024, published February 2025 — a volume that makes a halo open-top variant commercially rational for the first time since the W463's long run ended.
Prototype Images Confirm Four-Door Layout and Spare Wheel Brake Light
Mercedes-AMG released partially camouflaged prototype photographs of the G63 Cabriolet ahead of what the company describes as an imminent world premiere. The images settle several contested questions about the car's architecture. The vehicle retains all four doors — disappointing those who had lobbied for a shorter two-door body. The fabric roof folds electrically into the space above the rear passengers, and the spare wheel, still mounted on the tailgate, now carries the mandatory third brake light. That relocation became necessary because the upper section of the rear door was cut away to accommodate the stacked roof stack. Side-exit exhaust pipes remain in place, consistent with the standard AMG G63. The camouflage wrap covers the lower body sills and parts of the front fascia, but the overall silhouette is unambiguous. This article sits within a broader examination of the European premium segment expansion that has driven record SUV volumes across Daimler, BMW Group, and Stellantis since the early 2000s.
Price Arithmetic: How Far Above $200,000 Will the Cabriolet Land?
The 2027 Mercedes-AMG G63 in standard closed form carries a US base price of $200,200. The inline-six G550, one trim level below, starts at approximately $155,000 — a gap of $45,200 between the two variants. Coachbuilder Brabus has historically charged between $80,000 and $120,000 above list price for its open-top G-Class conversions, putting finished vehicles at $280,000–$320,000. A factory Cabriolet, even without the Brabus name, is unlikely to undercut that positioning significantly given tooling amortisation across what will be a limited run. If Mercedes applies even a 15 percent premium over the standard G63 — $200,200 × 1.15 — the opening price resolves to approximately $230,230 before options. Options on the current G63 routinely add $30,000–$50,000. A fully specified Cabriolet could therefore reach $280,000 in the US market, putting it within range of the BMW four-motor M3 that debuts in 2027 at an estimated $250,000-plus in performance-flagship territory.
Magna Steyr's Role: 46 Years of Continuous G-Class Production
Mercedes-Benz's own production communications, cited in the company's Manufacturing Locations Overview document updated January 2025, confirm that Graz has assembled every G-Class since series production began in 1979. Magna Steyr operates the plant under contract, one of the few arrangements in the industry where a tier-one supplier runs a premium OEM's entire model line. The document states that Graz currently handles "low-volume, high-complexity body variants that require hand-intensive assembly sequences not suited to high-throughput lines in Sindelfingen or Bremen." That language maps precisely onto a fabric-roof conversion requiring structural reinforcement of the sill, A-pillar, and B-pillar sections. Whether Magna Steyr has already retooled a dedicated Cabriolet station, or will run the open-top down a modified section of the existing track, had not been confirmed publicly as of the prototype reveal date.
Fully Automatic Roof, But Key Operating Parameters Left Unanswered
The prototype footage shows the fabric roof descending without a driver present, which implies a fully automatic cycle — a departure from the previous G-Class Cabriolet, whose driver had to manually release two latches behind the sun visors before triggering the electric motor. That change removes a known friction point for owners. What Mercedes has not confirmed: the maximum vehicle speed at which the roof can operate. On the previous generation, the mechanism required a stationary vehicle. On most current fabric-roof competitors — the Bentley Bentayga convertible has been discussed in concept form, and the Range Rover Evoque Convertible permitted operation up to 48 km/h — some movement capability is standard. Mercedes also did not address rear visibility quantification. The folded stack, combined with the full-size spare wheel, creates an unusually tall rear obstruction. No figures for rearward sightlines, parking sensor specification, or camera resolution were included in the prototype release materials reviewed for this article. The omission matters because European homologation under UN Regulation 46 sets minimum indirect vision fields that the production car must meet. See also the evolving tariff context affecting imported European vehicles in the U.S. truck tariff and IVA discussion, which may affect the G63 Cabriolet's US landed cost.
Non-AMG Cabriolet Variant: The Question Mercedes Hasn't Answered
The G550, fitted with an inline-six producing 449 hp, sits $45,200 below the AMG G63 in the current US price sheet. In Europe, the G450d diesel and the petrol G500 cover the same price band. Neither variant has been confirmed in Cabriolet form. That gap matters commercially: when the previous Cabriolet was last sold, it was available in sub-AMG specifications, broadening the potential owner pool. Brabus chief executive Hakan Bozkurt told Auto Motor und Sport in an interview published March 2025 that "the coachbuilder market for open G-Class derivatives remains active precisely because the factory has not filled it at multiple price points." If Mercedes limits the Cabriolet exclusively to AMG G63 specification, it preserves exclusivity but hands non-AMG customers back to Brabus and smaller converters. The McLaren product expansion announced for summer 2025, which includes an SUV alongside sports cars, illustrates how luxury manufacturers are deliberately tiering open-top products to cover price bands the factory ignores.
The returning G-Class Cabriolet will be the first factory open-top G built at Graz since the W463 generation ended production of its soft-top variant in 2014 — an eleven-year gap. Mercedes has not confirmed a production volume cap, an on-sale date beyond the 2027 model year, or whether right-hand-drive markets will receive allocation. The complete Mercedes-AMG model history and specifications are catalogued in the Global Auto Index manufacturer database.
