Mercedes recently said it could have made a sports activity coupe before BMW. It seems the grapes are still sour, but within months, the two German titans will be evenly matched: X6 against GLE Coupe and X4 vs. GLC Coupe.
These are the first spy photos of the model mentioned above, coming about a month after Mercedes showed the regular model and bid farewell to the GLK. For those of you who don't yet understand the naming system, we'll tell you that it's supposed to mirror the regular sedans.
That means the GLC Coupe is like a jacked up version of the C-Class Coupe. In fact, the two will share the same platform and engines. Many of the interior components will also be the same.
Even though camouflage still obstructs the Sports Activity Coupe prototype, we know exactly what's hiding under there. A preview concept was presented in April at the Shanghai Auto Show, the only difference being that we now have regular door handles.
A four-cylinder turbo engine is likely under the bonnet of this particular model. The whole range will closely mirror that of rival BMW, starting with a 177 PS diesel to battle the X4 xDrive20d. There will also be a couple of V6 models, the 333 PS GLC 400 Coupe and the 367 PS GLC 450 AMG Coupe.
Overall, we think this battle favors the people from Stuttgart. You see, the X4 was built around an older platform that will be phased out in the next couple of years, while the GLC model is made with new parts from the ground up. The interior finishes and its 9-speed automatic gearbox should give it the edge.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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