Mercedes-Benz Funmog
Car of the Day #193: 1994 Mercedes-Benz Funmog – The Dapper Dozen
On the surface, the workhorse commercial vehicle known as the Mercedes-Benz Unimog is one of the least fun vehicles imaginable.
From garbage disposal to firefighting to being used as a howitzer platform, since 1946 in post-war Germany, Unimogs have been pushed into service. Like any form of industrial machinery, the Unimog is designed around the jobs it does, not necessarily around the person sitting behind the wheel.
They’re sold to the farthest reaches of the planet, where they're prized for being able to operate in any conditions, even on the shelf as a Lego Technic version.
In 1994, Mercedes-Benz realized that there was one place the Unimog hadn't yet conquered: the passenger car market. Not in the sense of using it to take your kids to school, but in being used strictly for recreational use.
Japanese Unimog believed to be either an early Funmog or the inspiration for the Funmog • via Mercedes-Benz, Motor Trend
Engineers created what was essentially an interior and exterior upgrade, available on U 90, U 140, U 1400, and U 1550 L models: the Funmog.
Think of the Funmog as the big daddy, the ultimate Super Duty Denali King Ranch Rubicon T3 Edition: an indestructible truck, stuffed to the gills with 1994 levels of austere luxury.
Weird…just like what AM General had introduced two years earlier with the civilian Hummer…Hmm…
• via Mercedes-Benz
Funmog received leather or cloth Recaro seats, along with a host of niceties borrowed from the S-Class, including climate control, tinted windows, power everything, Becker CD stereo, and a hands-free phone.
Outside, tubes of chrome were added everywhere possible, with bright white chrome wheels and body-coloured wheel centres to complete the look.
Pretty awesome, right? Must have been a smashing success, right?
