Mansory is a premium aftermarket company that has designed some pretty good vehicles in the past. The cars that it has unveiled lately, however, seem to tell a different story. Check out the audacious Lamborghini Urus Venatus or the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Coastline to know what I mean. But, now, the company is back to working on its favorite vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

In 2019, Mansory worked on the Mercedes-AMG G63 to create a Star Trooper edition of the legendary SUV. The company has now created a pickup version of the same Star Trooper SUV with a few more touches. Did Brabus inspire them to do this? The Star Trooper has been designed by Mansory in collaboration with Phillip Plein.

What Does it Look Like?

Mansory doesn’t mess around with the core looks of the exotic cars and SUVs it works on, as it should be. The Star Trooper pickup comes with a gray camouflage – which is called the “50 Shades of Gray” camouflage - and contrasting red inserts. Up front, the round headlights feature LED Daytime Running Lights on the borders. The grille has been swapped for a customized one with three horizontal slats. The center features a big Phillip Plein logo instead of Mansory. There is a ‘Star Trooper’ badge here as well and it features a red font. If you look carefully, there is red detailing peeping from the sides of the headlights. The trademark side indicators are left above these headlights.

The bumper, too, is replaced with a custom unit that features carbon fiber elements. The middle portion of the bumper comes with an air dam with honeycomb mesh grille beneath it. The same pattern is there for the fog lamp housing as well. But, instead of offering conventional lights here, Mansory has equipped two sets of LED strips on each side on two horizontal slats.

There are six LEDs that emit a bright red light that complements the theme of the car. You can see parking sensors in between these slats, along with a couple more above the air dam, and two more on extreme ends. A front-facing camera sits atop the Phillip Plein logo as well. As for the hood, it features a functional scoop with a small, slim mouth.

The truck is lifted and equipped with flared wheel arches to accommodate the mighty big 24-inch wheels. The funky black wheels come with slim spokes surrounded with a red-rim border. The red calipers and big brake discs further highlight the detailing. The wheels are wrapped around ridiculously low-profile tires that are bound to wear out very soon. Although they have a wide patch, the profile is way too low to suit the appearance of a truck. The fender receives a red-highlight design element as well.

The bed itself is not very wide and comes with roll bars on the side. A plastic board on the sides here is the only “cheap element” on the whole SUV-converted-truck. The high-riding truck comes with a power running board and dual exhaust pipes peeking beside it. All the wheel arches feature rear-facing air intakes that seem to be just a design element. The roof is slapped with two LED light bars throwing out red light. They won’t be bright enough to lighten up the road ahead, but still serve to the aesthetic purpose that they’re installed for.

The rear retains the spare tires with a Phillip Plein cover over it. Even the rear side of the cover is finished in the same camouflage. Nice attention to detail there by Mansory. The tailgate from the SUV is cut into half and the bottom part is placed here. The truck beds get a seating arrangement of kinds on either side and that limits the space in the truck bed.

Mansory has offered a single-step board underneath as well to climb into the bed. Outside, a Mansory P800 badge sits above the standard LED taillights placed at the corners. The bumper is similar to the one on the front fascia and comes with large air intakes that sit on either side with three slates. But, unlike the LED lights placed on the slats on the front bumper, this unit has lights behind it. The high ride height exposes a few mechanical elements that further add to the rugged looks. Overall, the converted truck looks bizarre and different, but the design will sooner or later grow on you.

This Pickup Truck Seems To Be A Tribute To Phillip Plein On The Inside

The similar camouflage treatment is given to the upholstery inside as well. Even with all the space inside and the boxy shape of the vehicle, you will feel claustrophobic from the minute you step inside. Hexagonal design is used all over the floor mats, carpets, and on the seats. There are red accents and stitching all around the dark cabin to create the red-and-black theme. The Star Trooper pickup truck comes with a Rolls-Royce-esque starry headliner. The red star-studded headliner can be controlled in various different ways and looks pretty exquisite. Park it under the dark sky and the cabin lights up in all the red lights everywhere.

The sides of the seats receive the camouflage trim along with ‘PP’ branding. Yes, we know having Phillip Plein branding is a matter of small pride, but I don’t suppose any owner would want constant reminders about that. You get either the “PP” or “Phillip Plein” branding on the floor mats, side bolsters of the seat headrests, door panels, carbon fiber side steps and heck, even the seat belts!

If I knew anything less, I’d assume Phillip Plein to be the owner of this vehicle who happens to be a bit of a narcissist. The steering wheel is a combination of various different materials including carbon fiber, suede, and metal. And, as you must have guessed it, the Phillip Plein logo sits bang in the middle of the steering wheel. There’s also a small Mansory branding here.

It Is More Powerful Than The Standard Mercedes-AMG G63?

In stock form, the Mercedes-AMG G63 comes with a 4.0-liter, V-8 Biturbo engine under the hood that makes 585 horses and 627 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent to the wheels via a nine-speed automatic gearbox. It features a central differential lock along with a front and rear diff lock, and a low range mode as well. Mansory hasn’t given out the engine specs yet, but we’re guessing them to be the same as the Star Trooper SUV.

The company gave the mill in the SUV a twist of its own and pumped it up with steroids. The engine now makes 850 horses and 737 pound-feet of torque. The performance is further enhanced by installing bigger turbos and remapping the ECU. The Star Trooper, in the SUV form, can sprint to 62 mph from a standstill in 3.5 seconds and goes all the way up to 155 mph before the speed governor kicks in. Mansory hasn’t provided these performance specs for the Start Trooper pickup, and neither has it provided any towing or payload ratings.

The highlight of the truck, however, is the high-performance exhaust system. It comes with two different modes to choose from – Comfort and Sport Plus. Despite the valves closes in the former mode, the exhaust is loud enough to startle someone walking on the road. Flip the switch to the Sport Plus mode and it gets loud enough to shut down all the other sounds. And, since you have the exhaust pipes come out on the driver’s side, it is all the more audible. If you are an enthusiast, all the other things don’t matter anymore once you fire up that engine and bring it to life.

How Much Does The Star Trooper Pickup Cost?

There is no word on the truck’s cost, but we are going to speculate it to be in the ballpark of $700,000. Shocked, right? The SUV version of the Star Trooper retailed for €550,000 - that’s around $628,500 a pop. There is a fair bit of work done to convert it, so we expect the $700,000 sticker price. Mansory hasn’t released warranty-related details about it yet.

Even This Extremely Niched Car Has Competition!

Mercedes-AMG G-Class 800 Adventure XLP by Brabus

well-into-the-six-digits sticker price has competition.>

When you talk about expensive mods, Brabus will definitely make an appearance. The company, just like Mansory, converted a Mercedes-AMG G63 into a pickup truck and customized it in its own way. While the standard Mercedes-AMG G63 starts at $152,500, the “First Edition” trim of the 800 Adventure XLP is priced at €575,630 ($631,055).

With all the optional goodies, including a Wingcopter drone, the price shoots up to €666,386 ($730,549). The prominent features include:

-* LED Lighting Kit

-* Bull Bar With Winch On The Bumper

-* 22-inch Silver Wheels

-* Pirelli Scorpion ATR All-Terrain Tires

-* Hood Scoop With Two Power Bulges

-* Pickup Bed Made Of Steel and Carbon

-* Burned Oak Leather

-* Headliner Wrapped In Black Alcantara

-* Aluminum Pedals, Paddle Shifters, and so on

The changes under the hood include:

-* 4.0-liter, V-8 Mill From The Mercedes-AMG G63

-* 800 Horses

-* 737 Pound-Feet Of Torque

-* 0-62 mph in 4.8 seconds

-* Top Speed of 130 mph

-* Reinforced Axle Housing

-* Portal Axles

-* Brabus High-Performance Exhaust System With Controllable Flap

-* Brabus Boost Xtra Sound Kit

Read our full review on the 2020 Mercedes-AMG G-Class 800 Adventure XLP by Brabus

Jeep Gladiator Maximus 1000 by Hennessey

The Hennessey Maximus 1000 is based on the Jeep Gladiator. It isn’t priced as high as the Brabus 800 Adventure XLP, but it isn’t cheap either. Hennessey limited the production to 24 examples and priced it at $200,000 a pop. Some features were retained whereas some were new. The truck came with notable features like:

-* Jeep’s Signature Seven-Slat Grille

-* All-Black Exterior Shade

-* Maximus-Exclusive Bumpers

-* LED Light Bar On The Roof And Bumper

-* Hennessey-Designed 20-Inch Alloys

-* Stainless Steel Exhaust Pipe

-* LED Taillights

-* Ground Clearance of 17.1 inches

-* Custom Leather Upgrade

-* Hennessey-embroidered seats

-* A Seven-Inch Infotainment System

The major changes came under the hood:

-* Pentastar Engine Swapped With FCA’s 6.2-liter, Supercharged V-8 Engine

-* Hennessey's HPE1000 Engine Upgrade

-* 1,000 Horsepower

-* 933 Pound-feet of Torque

-* New ECU, Fuel System, and Radiator

-* Upgraded Suspension System

-* Six-inch Lift Kit

Read our full review on the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Maximus 1000 by Hennessey

Final Thoughts

Only 20 examples of the Star Trooper SUV were created last year. Since the company created a pickup version of the very same SUV in less than a year, I’m assuming it sold like hotcakes. For a price of over half-a-million dollars, that is just fantastic.

However, we are yet to hear how many examples of the Start Trooper pickup Mansory will be producing. Some outlets claim that only seven examples of the truck will be made. The pickup truck looks alright on the outside, but the cabin is a different story altogether. Given the amount of Phillip Plein branding, it would make more sense for him to pay the owner of the truck for marketing him so much rather than the customer paying for a Phillip Plein-themed vehicle.

The engine and the exhaust system will surely change your perspective about the vehicle and you will love it more and more every time you floor the A-pedal. Overall, this is a desirable product, but if I were splurging this much money, I’d definitely consider the Brabus 800 Adventure XLP.