The first generation of the Vito/V-Class (W638) MPV and van, launched way back in 1996, was the first Mercedes-Benz car model in history to feature front-wheel drive.
Since 2003 it's been replaced by a newer generation, while a third one is getting nearer and nearer to its launch date in the following months.
While all this should mean that the original Vito/V-Class is pretty much dead and buried, you'd be wrong to think it, because a mildly modified version of the W638 generation will be built once again, only this time it won't be sporting the three-point star on the grille.
Instead the model's tooling and plans have been bought by Force Motors, known before as Bajaj Tempo, who are an Indian car company that's currently on a roll of car launches which have either small or large ties with older Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
The heavy-camouflaged MPV caught in the short video bellow is apparently the aforementioned Vito, according to indianautosblog, even though we've managed to see a pre-facelift version of the W639 (second generation) of the Vito/Viano that might also be manufactured under the Force Motors badge.
Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project. Full profile
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