Hellgeth Unimog review: basically, a 7.7-litre modified sports lorry

What is it?

That is essentially a Unimog U4023. Except it isn’t, because it’s been subject to the tender ministrations of Daimler/Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks Division, in collaboration with a company called Hellgeth Engineering. That particular Avengers team-up has produced the ‘most luxurious and powerful Unimog’ ever made, although strictly it’s still a prototype.

What you’re seeing here is essentially a sports lorry. The hypercar of Unimogs, built as a kind of proof-of-concept for a street-biased ‘Mog. It’ll be knocking about on the actual road for some real-world testing in the hands of a US-based customer once they can work out the emissions regs and import paperwork, though we can’t tell you who that is. No doubt he’ll be back… to Germany to collect it once the paperwork is done. *Cough*.

Photography: Alex Tapley [main]/manufacturer [below]

Understood. Possibly. So what’s been changed?

Quite a lot. But the standard off-road spec Unimog isn’t exactly lacking as standard. So it still has portal axles that lift the diff crown above the centreline of the wheels and adds a gearset within the hubs for ultimate torque multiplication when driving vertically up the north face of the Eiger and/or mall-crawling the Arndale Centre. Alternatively, the hubs can be 1:1 and just rely on the gearing from the ‘Mog gearbox, which includes a super low-range. There are full mechanical differential locks, heavy-duty everything, a frame that flexes in the middle during extreme off-roading, massive tyres and the aero of the blunt edge of Dorset.

But the concept gets more. So there’s matte grey paintwork over a new set of panels that add a frisson of style to the Unimog’s otherwise resolutely workwear style. More Calvin Klein than Carhartt. A stylish roofrack (although lightly impossible to load-out to, seeing as it’s 12ft in the air), the world’s chunkiest roll-hoop, a big lightbar, LED lights front and rear, digital mirrors from a modern lorry, the skidplates from a battleship.

Need to air-down the tyres from inside the cab? There’s central tyre inflation so you don’t have to get your hands mucky. Plus there’s a 165-litre fuel tank that can be extended to 235-litres or more, should you so desire. Just the casual £350 fill-up.

You’ll need that, because although most Unimogs get large-four-cylinder engines, this one gets one of the rarer straight sixes, tuned and fettled by Hellgeth, making it not-a-U4023. So it’s a variant of Mercedes’ OM936 at 7.7-litres. Yup, that’s just a fraction more than 1.1-litres per cylinder. Power is ‘only’ 300bhp, backed up by 1,033lb ft of torque.

The power-to weight on a vehicle that weighs in excess of ten tonnes is… uh… roughly the same as an original Renault 4. But the gearing and general heft means this thing could plough the frozen wastes of Hell if required. This isn’t about speed - it’s about being unstoppable. And possibly being able to tow the Earth off its axis, even off-road.

What about the inside? It’s supposed to be a luxury vehicle.

And it is. Sort of. If you define ‘luxury’ in comparison to what usually goes on inside a Unimog, it’s luxurious. But I doubt Maybach engineers are currently pitching a fit. Basically, there are now four quilted leather, air-sprung and electrically-operated seats. But they’re the same seats you get in a normal ‘Mog with extra garnish - comfortable, but not overly complex.

There are indeed only four seats in a car with a cab the size of a small flat, the middle of the vehicle occupied by a quilted leather coffin of an engine cover. There’s LED lighting and more quilted leather on a pair of panels on the ceiling, but this isn’t a Unimog that’s been re-thought.

You find that out by addressing the enormous steering wheel, just like you do in the normal version. It’s laid almost flat, pitched towards a utilitarian set of driver’s gauges. The centre console is as-per standard; plastic with many buttons. Buttons for low-range, electric windows, various lights, accessorised by a rotary dial for the three diff locks. It’s all very prosaic and useful, but there’s a distinct lack of knurled anything.

Still, it’s not what this is for, and it might lose some of the charm if it were too posho. It’s big though; you’re sat some way north of any SUV in production and looking HGV drivers directly in the eye.

What’s it like to drive?

Well, the standard ‘Mog in this configuration isn’t one of the utility variants, so you can’t hang the various attachments off it, or swing the steering wheel from left to right in the field as you could with some of the ultimate work versions. Instead, this concept is more ultimate off-road - and very little has changed dynamically to either compromise that ability or improve the on-road handling.

The tyres are more road-biased than field ‘Mogs which help, but essentially you’re still limited by weight, height and soft suspension. The steering is medium-weight and tremendously slow-geared - an advantage in a vehicle like this, where you don’t want to be pitching it in with a mistimed twitch of the wrists. You’ll be spooling the wheel more than you think through roundabouts, excess speed rewarded with big, precipitous lean.

And yes, there are blindspots upon blindspots. But the digital cameras help; there’s one in the headliner for direct rear view, and the side monitors show both the rear quarter panels and down below your hips, so you can actually check for hidden bicyclists or VW Polos. Around town it is ridiculously amusing - people actually cheer when you drive past. Weird.

The ‘box is an eight-speed electro-pneumatic auto with the gear-pause-shift-engage of things that tow multi-tonne trailers. It’s slow and limited to about 56mph, but to be honest, you probably don’t want to be marching around at much more than that. Braking is consistent but needs consideration - you basically drive this with eyes up like an HGV driver, scanning ahead and ready to slow at your own pace, rather than someone else’s. Mind you, not many people pull out in front of it. In fact, if there’s a car that makes other drivers more respectful, we’re yet to find it.

So what’s the deal - can anyone buy one?

This Unimog is strictly a ‘concept’ at the moment. But if there was enough interest, a very limited production run might be considered. Price is a bit in the wind, though; you probably wouldn’t expect much change from three quarters of a million Euros (roughly £650k). Saying that, Hellgeth can provide the engine anyway, and most of the other stuff could be sourced if you had the funds and the inclination, so it’s not vapourware in the strictest sense.

There’s one thing we can guarantee though; as a roadcar-slash-sports lorry, this attracts more attention than any blinged-up G-Wagen or Revuelto. Turn up to Casino Square in this, and you’ll take up all the attention. As well as six car parking spaces.