A new status symbol will soon arrive in the U.S., and its ride height promises to be as jacked as its price.

After tempting Americans buyers from overseas since last year, the Michael Bay-worthy Mercedes-Benz G550 4×4² should begin arriving stateside next spring, the automaker announced.

The G550 4×4² is the ultimate version of the body-on-frame SUV line that started out as a military vehicle in the early 1970s. Keeping the host G550’s body and frame intact, the 4×4² version makes massive gains in ground clearance and track thanks to portal axles.

The setup allows the wheel hub and axle input to be in totally different rooms, with the power transferred to the vehicle’s 22-inch rims via a set of gears. With the hubs riding far below the level of the fixed axles, the G550 4×4² boasts a ground clearance of more than 17 inches, with a track widened by nine inches in the front and 10 inches in the rear.

That swaggering stance is borrowed from the insane G62 AMG 6×6.

Expect to be able ford 39.4 inches of water when a flash flood hits that gully you were tearing up. Permanent all-wheel drive, three locking differentials and an off-road low range setting should help the brute get back up to the Interstate.

Ensuring drivers have the proper motivation to handle the rigors of L.A. traffic — erm, offroading — the 416-horsepower 4.0-liter Biturbo V8 and seven-speed automatic carries over from the plain-jane G550.

Prices haven’t been announced, but expect the 4×4² to comfortably top the $119,900 entry price of the stock G550.