Some day, when all the cool cars are extinct, a mad scientist is going to come across this 1979 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen encased in a perfect block of resin -- 44.4 tons of the stuff, to be exact -- extract its DNA and revive the long-dead Gelandewagen species, which should have no problem dominating the feeble autonomous pods that will populate the future’s roadways.

But until that day comes, maybe 10,000 years from now we hope, we’ll all be staring at this G-Wagen and wondering what the heck Benz was thinking. We know there’s a new take on the rugged SUV headed to the Detroit auto show this year, but this is a way of reminding everyone about what came before.

Of course, there’s the whole “Jurassic Park” preserved-in-amber angle at play here, which is really played up in this disorienting teaser video. That can't be accidental.

The G-Class Cube under construction.

Is it a waste of an early G-Wagen? We love the things here at Autoweek, and it’s always a shame to see a good vehicle rendered inoperable, but rare as these trucks are in the United States (and when they are spotted, they're typically tarted up to Rodeo Drive-ready AMG spec) they're workhorses overseas -- and not exactly uncommon. We'd imagine this would be like turning a minty CJ7 into an objet d'art.

Which, upon further consideration, does seem like sort of a waste. Ah well.

A 1979 Gelandewagen trapped in amber-like resin, forever. Tragedy, art or both?

That aside, creating this thing was a feat. It took, according to the automaker, 90 days to create the object (would calling it a sculpture be justified?), adding about 1.2 inches’ worth of pseudo-amber in vertical height each day. In its completed form, the whole thing is a little over 18 feet long, 8.4 feet wide and nearly 10.5 feet high.

In other words, it’s unmissable -- which, no matter what you think of it, is exactly the point.

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