This opulent Mercedes G-Wagen is a $500,000 art piece on wheels — see inside the G63 Steampunk Edition

Carlex Design G63 Steampunk Edition.Carlex Design

• Polish car customizer Carlex Design developed a totally over-the-top, steampunk-themed G-Wagen called the Steampunk Edition.
• Carlex plans to build 10 of the SUVs, and said each one takes 5,200 hours to build.
• Each limited-edition G63 will feature a leather interior, wood floors, and a bespoke, hand-etched copper roof with steampunk-inspired designs.
• The conversion costs roughly $350,000, not including the price of the SUV itself.

Maintaining the same basic, boxy look for decades, the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen doesn't need much in the way of improvements. But that doesn't stop customizers — and occasionally the brand itself — from coming up with outlandish new takes on the time-honored SUV.

One of the latest comes courtesy of Polish customization firm Carlex Design. The company developed a limited-run, steampunk-inspired G-Wagen that runs customers right around $500,000, when one factors in the roughly $350,000 conversion cost and the price of the SUV itself.

The steampunk aesthetic gets its inspiration from 19th-century fashion and steam-powered machinery, so Carlex's G63 Steampunk Edition incorporates lots of leather, wood, copper accents, and handmade details. The most striking part of the SUV is an intricate, hand-etched copper roof that will be unique to each of the 10 Steampunk-Edition G63s built.

Keep scrolling to take a closer look at Carlex's Steampunk G63.