Updated 8.31.14
The Concept COupe SUV earned a huge share of foot traffic at the Mercedes-Benz Pebble Beach house. One of perhaps twenty vehicles on display, this concept is clearly going to be a huge sales hit.
Despite being an advanced vision and not a production model whatsoever, almost everyone who approached the truck wanted to get inside. Many tries at those flush door-handles, to no avail.
These awesome nose and tail designs are reafy for primetime!
The next-gen ML-Class is rumored to be name-changed to GLE-Class, This name change would bring along a new-segment GLC-Class in a racy, X6-form, this being closest to the 2016 GLE63 AMG.
As a name change versus the MLC-Class and MLC550, either or is fine by us. If the GL SUV badging sticks, expect this nose and tail on everything from the new GLK to the GL63 seven-seater to even the G63 Galendewagen as well.
LIGHTING DEMONTRATIONS
The lighting front and rear is a huge part of the Concept Soupe SUV’s static appeal. With laser functions for the actual low and high-beams, the individual laser LED segments scrolled through their brightness in this deplay. A corresponding portion of the lense designs in the pupil of the lamps, per se. These clear glass elements are fantastic and three-dimensional swirls.
The indicator ambers also scroll in real-life like the Audi R8 or A8 or Ford Mustang, but in a far crisper and brighter way.
Out back, the light bar says it all. It is thick and wider near the edges as well as perfectly horizontal and low all the time. We did some renderings with this rump applied on the ML-Class…
http://www.car-revs-daily.com/2014/06/28/2016-mercedes-benz-ml63-amg-rendering/
2016 ML63 (GLE63) AMG rendering
The only issue with the concept are its fantasy tires. Ditch those for high-performance 22-inchers, and the new Benz SUV style could wear license plates for many shoppers tomorrow.
Great to meet this gorgeous Mercedes-Benz Concept SUV in the flesh. The look is hot and we’re eager for production versions!
2014 Mercedes-Benz Concept Coupé SUV
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The MLC is a truck that would greatly assist Mercedes-Benz in fending off the latest Range Rover Sport, as well as even sleeker machines like the Infiniti QX70 and BMW X6.
Its formula is pretty standard for the brand: avant-garde future style that previews both this expected MLC production model’s silhouette, as well as the nose and tail graphic of the next ML-Class and perhaps even the next GL-Class.
While the current ML and GL are still relatively fresh, they are highly likely to adopt this next-gen style when up for revision in calendar 2016 as 2017 models.
Overall style and design impressions? The racy tumbling roofline is nice, as is the single horizontal brake light brake that recalls the AMG Vison GranTurismo.
But overall, it also has some really huge tires that seem overinflated, and some extremely awkward angles from the nose and profile…
Official Details below from Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz Concept Coupé SUV: sporty coupé at the highest level
Stuttgart / New York. With the Concept Coupé SUV, Mercedes-Benz is raising the standard to a new, higher level in literally multiple respects.
This extremely sporty study impresses as a typical representative of the long-standing coupé tradition at Mercedes-Benz, with a flowing sideline, stretched cabin and striking radiator grille with central chrome louvre. At the same time, the Concept Coupé SUV stands out with its muscular wings, large wheel arches, imposing 22-inch wheels, high beltline and generous ground clearance. Its dynamic handling on the road is also of a superior level. The variable dynamic control system “Dynamic Select Control” provides four fundamentally different transmission modes and an individually programmable setup.
“Sensual as a coupé – visionary as an SUV,” is the succinct choice of words used by Gorden Wagener, Head of Design at Mercedes-Benz, to describe the physiognomy of the Concept Coupé SUV. The four-door, all-wheel drive Coupé has a length of almost five metres, and an imposing width of a good two metres thanks to its broad shoulders and flared wheel arches. At the same time, it has a modest height of around 1.75 metres, exhibiting the flat, extended roofline that is typical of a sports coupé. “The Concept Coupé SUV stands out thanks to its extreme proportions and in doing so interprets our hallmark Mercedes coupé design idiom perfectly. With its superior sportiness it conveys a sense of modern luxury and aesthetic aspirations of sensual clarity,” continues Gorden Wagener. Like the recessed door handles, frameless side windows blend perfectly into the vehicle flanks to accentuate the coupé-like character even further.
In line with a tradition and like all recent study vehicles, the Concept Coupé SUV is painted in the “Alu Beam” paint finish, which is also reminiscent of the technically ground-breaking Silver Arrows of the 1930s and 1950s.
The upright sports grille with single louvre, framed by the three-dimensionally designed modern, all-LED Multibeam headlamps, is the major feature of the front end with its short, stylish overhang. Soft cubes dominate the grille insert, and the forward-sloping bonnet with its typical Mercedes power domes underlines the membership of the Concept Coupé SUV in the line-up of particularly sporty Mercedes-Benz models. A discreet reference to the SUV genes of this study is provided by the harmoniously integrated, illuminated side sills, which are reminiscent of the running boards found on classic SUVs or off-roaders. Indicators have always pointed the way in the best sense of the word, however in the Concept Coupé SUV they take on a new form. The direction indicators operate with a moving digital light band whose lighting elements light up sequentially from inside to outside, indicating the change in direction in two ways.
Elegant rear end: in the style of the S-Class Coupé
The coupé-like nature of the Concept Coupé SUV is also emphasised by the design of the rear end with its obvious elements of the design line first presented with the S-Class Coupé, which will be followed by all coupé models from Mercedes-Benz in future. The styling characteristics of this include the slim band of rear lights with their ruby-like, three-dimensional look and the registration plate now incorporated into the rear bumper. Another feature that has for generations distinguished the large coupé models from Mercedes-Benz is the typical shape of the rear window, which is rounded off at the top.
The simulated underguard into which the tailpipes of the dual-flow exhaust system are integrated makes a discreet SUV reference. Polished aluminium dominates here, as on the integral door handles, the side sills, the front air intakes and the edging of the cabin.
Wide, flush-fitted 22-inch wheels with tyres in size 305/45 R 22 make the vehicle sit squarely on the road, and leave no doubt about the passion of the Concept Coupé SUV: at very first glance, this trailblazing study signals its sporty, dynamic ambitions.
Haute Couture: the Mercedes-Benz coupé range
Developing and creating new model families and vehicle classes has traditionally been one of the strengths of Mercedes-Benz, the inventor of the automobile. This is particularly obvious in the history of its coupés, and most especially in the very recent past. Models such as the four-door Coupés or the Shooting Brakes in the CLS-Class have not only created completely new vehicle classes, but have also had a lasting influence on the model policies of different manufacturers, found numerous imitators and proved to be an outstanding sales success.
The same can be said of the CLA-Class, which has been able to transfer the success of the CLS into the compact class and is extraordinarily popular with customers. With the Concept Coupé SUV, Mercedes-Benz is now taking a similar approach. The study follows this coupé theme within the SUV sector consistently and demonstrates how a four-door, all-wheel drive series production coupé might look.
Technical data
Body type/construction |
Four-door, four-seater coupé study, frameless side windows |
Engine |
V6, 4 valves per cylinder |
Displacement |
2996 cc |
Rated output |
245 kW (333 hp) at 5500 rpm |
Rated torque |
480 Nm at 1400- 4000 rpm |
Mixture formation |
Electronic direct petrol injection, piezo injectors, 2 turbochargers |
Transmission |
9G-TRONIC PLUS nine-speed automatic transmission with torque converter lock-up, twin-turbine damper with centrifugal pendulum and DIRECT SELECT gearshift, ECO start/stop |
Drive |
4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive, ASR, ESP®, 4ETS, |
Chassis and suspension |
Double wishbone at the front, multi-link at the rear, special air suspension with selective damping, ACTIVE CURVE SYSTEM active roll stabilisation |
Braking system |
High-performance ceramic composite brake system, electric (parking brake, ABS, BAS PLUS PRE-SAFE© Brake |
Steering |
Electromechanical power steering |
Transmission modes |
COMFORT, SLIPPERY, SPORT, SPORT+, INDIVIDUAL |
Wheelbase |
2916 mm |
Track, front/rear |
1683 / 1768 mm |
Wheel/tyre size front/rear |
10J x 22 305/45 R 22 / 11J x 22 305/45 R 22 |
length |
4935 mm |
Width with/without mirrors |
2208 / 2044 mm |
Height |
1739 mm |
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
Mr. Burkart is available for all questions and concerns by email Tom(at)car-revs-daily.com.