On this episode of Epic Drives, Johnny Lieberman and Justin Bell travel to Sweden to test drive a Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG through Sweden to the AMG Driving Academy, with their final goal to get to the Arctic Circle. During their journey, they land in Stockholm and attend a fashion show, and later drift an SLK on a frozen lake.
The video opens with Johnny Lieberman and Justin Bell drifting that Mercedes-Benz SLK convertibleâ€"top upâ€"in -15 degrees Fahrenheit weather. After, they introduce the Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG and start their journey. In Copenhagen, Denmark, the two take in the city, eat a quick meal and head on the road.
While on the road to Stockholm, Sweden, Justin Bell discusses how they were able to do the trip in the first place. President of AMG had invited Bell to drive on the frozen track, but he wants to take it one step further and asks if he could drive not only on the track, but drive the G65 to it.
Only one press car of the Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG exists, and it’s the one they’re currently driving. The G65s have become more powerful and luxurious over time, and the AMG versions have hand built 6.0-liter V12 engine, producing 612 horsepower. They arrive in Stockholm around 4 p.m. to witness the sunset, and are just in time to attend the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. By the end of the event, the two car guys look bored to tears and on the verge of sleep.
On the road, there are stops for photo ops and there are more hilarious antics and banter between the two. With that, they’re off to the north, heading to the frozen lake track at the AMG Driving Academy in northern Sweden.
Again, the men make a pit stop, and this time it’s thanks to a sign signaling that “China†is just ahead. The cultural center sporting Chinese artifacts and architecture seems strange, especially with an out of place Bob Marley t-shirt thrown in the mix.
After the confusing detour into “China†Lieberman and Bell head to Gavla to see the world’s biggest Yule Goat. Bell says that arsonists attempt to burn it down every year and he goes on to list all the ways people have tried to destroy the landmark over the years. By the time they get there, it has already been destroyed.
It seems like their trip is full of detours and sight-seeing as they stumble upon a ferry that takes cars to a small island. After they reach land again, they announce that they’ve landed on the ‘real Sweden’ with roads covered in snow and below zero temperatures. “We’re going 70 miles an hour in the snow and the G wagon is just a tank. I mean it just absolutely can handle these conditions and these kinds of roads,†Bell said.
Lieberman discusses the military background of the G65 during their long drive to the track. Currently, the G wagons are sold to the military in 35 different countries, and Mercedes-Benz was going to stop selling them in America until marines in 2006 bought over 100 vehicles.
They arrive at AMG’s frozen lake track and start drifting the SLK. They’re now in 25 degrees below zero weather. Both Lieberman and Bell are amazed by the car’s maneuverability, even in snow. They back into the G65 to test its off-road snow capabilities, one of the main reasons for the trip.
The off-road track consists of snow, ice, and mud, and the G65 handles all elements thrown its way without incident. With so much torque, the car virtually dives itself down a hill, and both men are impressed with the turn radius of the vehicle. They reach the end of their journey to find out that they’re fifty miles away from the Arctic Circle, and drive the rest of the way to reach their final goal. They push the vehicle to reach the border, and not once does the G65 let them down.
Source: Motor Trend via YouTube
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