Carlex Design Gold & Mint Edition: Ultimate Eye Candy
The Mercedes-Benz G Class (also affectionately referred to as the G Wagon) has straddled a fine line between world-class performance off-road and being the luxury ride of choice for movie stars and celebrities since hitting the United States market in 2001. Sure, it has its origins in a military contract vehicle designed for combat maneuvers, and still retains all of that capability in spades. However, Mercedes has slowly created an entirely new class of vehicle with the G Class, cramming enough sumptuous leather and cutting-edge technology into the cabins of the SUVs that they are more frequently purchased for these qualities than their off-road bonafides these days.
Because of this unique market position and the hordes of die-hard fans of the aesthetics, engineering, and build quality of the G Wagon, they are frequent canvasses for customization and personalization from many different ateliers around the world. Some of those names are huge and immediately recognizable among most Mercedes enthusiasts, such as Mansory, Brabus, and Lumma. For each of these names, there are multiples of smaller shops, turning out creations that are just as impressive. One of these is Carlex Design, whose “Gold & Mint Edition” G 63 is truly a thing of beauty.
Carlex Design
Carlex Design is an ultra-exclusive interior shop, catering to both automobiles as well as airplanes (think private jets). A full-service interior shop, they design any interior creation a buyer could dream up for their choice of transportation, and then set that design in motion in needle, thread, and leather. It doesn’t stop at mere reupholstery jobs, either. Carlex will handcraft any interior item you want, right down to bespoke steering wheels. Over the years, they’ve created several one-off creations in their “Jewel” series, including a resto-modded Jaguar XJC, Rolls-Royce Phantom, and even a Mini Countryman. They’ve also have steampunk’d out a G 63 before, but today we’ll take a look at their Gold & Mint G 63.
Gold & Mint Exterior
The easiest part of the Gold & Mint Edition G 63 to break down is undoubtedly the exterior. The G Wagon is finished in a beautiful seafoam-mint color, with body-color wheel wells and bumpers to match. When combined with the Carlex grille and hood ornament, the result is show-stopping. Carlex hasn’t gone too wild with the rest of the exterior, save for the carbon fiber spare tire cover, and the beautifully contrasting gold-painted 23” wheels. See where the name comes from?
Other shops might feel the need to bolt on tons of aftermarket carbon bodywork, festooned with huge hood scoops and vents, but Carlex doesn’t take that approach here. It’s because their prowess is already on full display, and to bear witness, all you must do is open a door.
The Lap of Luxury
Even by “custom Mercedes G Class” standards, the interior of the Carlex Gold & Mint Edition is absolutely, well, bonkers. Every inch of the interior has been redone in the same beautiful mint green color that’s painted on the exterior, and the end result is overwhelming in the best of ways. The headliner is upholstered in Alcanatara, which provides a beautiful tactile look that complements the smooth and perforated leathers used for the seats, console, doors, and dash. The seats are Mercedes parts, but have been reshaped entirely by Carlex. Alcantara is also used to frame the inside of the rear window in the luggage compartment, and the result is just a beautiful sight when you open up the trunk to stow your bags.
The rear bench seats keep the 3-person seating arrangement, but find themselves, too, swaddled in that beautiful mint green leather. The steering wheel has been completely reworked in the same leather, and truly ties the interior together. Each manufacturer is known for their different takes on custom interiors (Brabus’ seashell stitching is a famous example), and the beautiful interior provided by Carlex surely hangs with the best of them.
Perfection Takes Time
As with all good things made by hand, much time goes into the manufacturing of a Gold & Mint Edition G 63. All in all, Carlex spends about a month on each vehicle performing all of the exterior and interior enhancements, and unlike many of these other ultra-exclusive G Class builds which may only see one or two examples made, the Gold & Mint Edition is able to be commissioned by buyers as we speak. Buyers can commission Carlex to perform their exterior mods or interior mods separately, but the look is clearly best achieved by the complete package from Carlex. In total, this will cost about $66,000 on top of the base price of the vehicle.
When you take a look at the prices of some competing G Classes from Brabus and Mansory, the prospect of sliding into such a gorgeous and fully-custom vehicle as that provided by Carlex for around $200,000 in total actually seems rather appealing. It’s a vehicle crafted with the intent of maximum luxury for the driver and passengers, and it’s clear from even the most cursory peek at one that they’ve hit the ball out of the park with their G 63 Gold & Mint Edition.
