Mercedes-Benz does not build many cars like the Mercedes-Benz W31: a 4-door touring car / Limousine with 5.0L M24 Straight-eight engine, built from 1934 to 1939 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together.
How it came about
The Mercedes-Benz W31 type G4 is a German three-axle off-road vehicle first produced by Mercedes-Benz as a staff/command car for the Wehrmacht in 1934. The cars were designed as a seven-seat touring car or closed saloon, and were mainly used by upper echelons of the Nazi regime in parades and inspections, as they were deemed too expensive for general Army use.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 5.0L M24 Straight-eight engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 3700 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. The wheelbase is 4050 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Mercedes-Benz's history is not in doubt: the Mercedes-Benz G1 (W103) came before it; the Mercedes-AMG G 63 6x6 followed it; it was built at Germany. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Bugatti Type 57, the Chevrolet Suburban, the British Motor Corporation MG N-type. Its Mercedes-Benz stablemates include the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and the Mercedes-Benz C124.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Mercedes-Benz W31 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.