What Is the 620GE? The V8 Wolf, Explained
The 620GE is our designation for a Mercedes-Benz 250GD Wolf engineered around the 6.2 liter LS3 V8. The name follows the convention Mercedes itself used for the platform: the displacement, followed by G for Geländewagen and E for fuel injection. It identifies the most powerful vehicle we build, and it exists as a designation of its own because the truck that carries it is meaningfully different from the one it began as.
Is the 620GE Just an Engine Swap?
No, and the distinction is the point of the designation. Simply bolting an engine in an engine bay is not difficult; making the result appear, behave, and drive like a coherent product is. The EMC 620GE is the product of nearly ten years of engineering work on a single platform, developed and refined across more than 175 restorations of the 250GD Wolf, and everything around the engine was built to receive it.
That work includes our proprietary driveline, developed to carry the LS3 V8's output through the W461 chassis; upgraded cooling engineered for the engine's demands; an AMG braking package matched to the performance; our proprietary suspension, in standard or FOX reservoir specification; and the GM six-speed automatic integrated as part of the drivetrain rather than adapted to it. Each of those systems was developed on the platform it serves. The 620GE is what the accumulated learning of a decade spent building one vehicle looks like when it is applied all at once.
What Is the 620GE Like to Drive?
The LS3 sets the terms of the experience. Four hundred thirty horsepower in a truck this size means acceleration arrives without drama or effort, passing happens on request rather than on planning, and the 620GE holds highway speeds with composure. It is the difference between a vintage truck that can keep up and one that never has to think about it.
Around that engine sits a driving environment from a golden era of motoring. The 620GE offers the open-air character of a 1990s cabriolet G-Wagen, and it remains analog in the ways an owner wants it to be: upright glass, a simple and ergonomic interior, and the direct, mechanical relationship with the road that defined the original 250GD. Into that cabin we integrate the creature comforts that make daily use effortless, with air conditioning, heated seats, wireless Apple CarPlay, premium Harman sound, and phone chargers front and rear built in as the interior takes shape.
The result is a vehicle that pairs the vintage aesthetics of a classic cabriolet G-Wagen with a distinctly modern feel behind the wheel, with the acceleration, cruising ease, drivability, and reliability that belong to the present. It suits drivers who love how the vintage truck looks and feels, and intend to use it. For anyone who would rather watch than read, ride along with Jonny Lieberman as he drives the LS3 V8-powered Wolf and shares his impressions, available on our Expedition Motor Co. press page.
The 620GE is offered in both Short Wheelbase and Long Wheelbase configurations, the latter extending the platform for additional passengers and presence.
How Can a 620GE Be Specified?
The 620GE can be commissioned, and the specification is the client's throughout. The options below reflect the direction available in the custom g wagon configurator, with the exterior color itself entirely open: any color can be commissioned, not only those shown in the builder or built before.
Exterior Options
- Any exterior color, without restriction to past builds or builder presets
- Body-color or black grille and headlamp surrounds
- Clear or amber indicator lenses
- Indicator guards and headlamp guards
- EMC bullbar
- WARN winch
- Baja Designs pod lights
- Body-matched jerry can
- EMC running board side steps
Wheel and Brake Options
- Three forged wheel designs: 16" Type 461, 17" STAHL, and 18" Ashtaroth
- A range of brake caliper color options
Interior Options
- Weatherproof interior in a choice of more than 35 colors
- Third-row jump seats
Soft Top Options
- Full Soft Top (included)
- Bikini Soft Top (included)
- Full-Length Bimini Top (available for purchase)
- Six top color options
Drivetrain Options
- The Wolf configurator offers four engine directions: the original Mercedes OM602 diesel, the OM605a turbodiesel, the OM606a turbodiesel, and the brand-new 6.2L 430 hp LS3 V8. The LS3 is the engine that defines the 620GE.
- Proprietary suspension in standard or FOX reservoir specification
How Is a 620GE Commissioned?
The same way as every Wolf we build: as a full frame-off restoration of a documented W461, carried out entirely in-house across more than 2,500 man-hours, with the 620GE's engineering integrated as the truck comes together rather than added at the end.
Completed examples are documented on our 620GE build pages below:
https://www.expeditionmotorcompany.com/1992-620ge-wolf-087810/
https://www.expeditionmotorcompany.com/1993-620ge-wolf-088657/
https://www.expeditionmotorcompany.com/1990-620ge-wolf-069910/
https://www.expeditionmotorcompany.com/1991-620ge-wolf-081417/
https://www.expeditionmotorcompany.com/1991-620ge-wolf-080278/
Current inventory is on the builds page, and a new commission begins in the configurator, from paint and interior through the engine that gives the truck its name.
