Deep down, in the places we don’t tell our neighbors and significant others about, we all want a Unimog. And even this 1971 Mercecedes-Benz Unimog S 404.1, far from the weirdest or strangest of its ilk, will scratch that elusive itch that a Wrangler or a Hummer can’t.
The 404 S is, as Unimogs go, a genuinely essential and moderate approach to break into this peculiar world. They’re plenty cool but lack the sensational weirdness, gearing, and versatility of the 406 or the 416. Additional recognizing Unimoggers would incline toward something with a 18-speed transmission and three turn around paces. In case you’re going to go full Unimog there are a lot of different alternatives, yet this 404 is a decent first attack and a sensibly perfect one.
This 1971 Mercedes-Benz Unimog S 404.1 has a six-speed manual transmission for the 2.2-liter diesel straight-six, and your usual locking differentials and portal axles. There are two crawling ratios, four forward ratios for normal street driving, and two reverse gears.
There’s a little bit of wear but it’s unmolested German off-road goodness. That’s basically a requirement on a Unimog. Let this former Swiss military truck crawl its way into your garage.
