Photo: kelsonik / j.b.cars / Instagram
For the first time ever, a battery-electric car has topped the European sales chart during the first six months of the year - Tesla's Model Y compact crossover SUV beat the sensible Dacia Sandero to become the Old Continent's best-selling automotive model.
As such, everyone needs to do something electrifying about that. Mercedes-Benz, for example, has been hard at work during these past few years with its EQ transformation - but as of late it also gave a jolt to its plug-in hybrid endeavors with the arrival of the W214 E-Class executives sedan, the new CLE class with mild hybrids, and now the reveal of the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 and 63 S E Performance in the family.
As such, we should wonder - are the Germans ready or not for the potential 2035 band of ICE-powered vehicles? Probably not, if you ask us. But they are indeed prepared to try and sell as many crossovers and SUVs as they can, in the meantime. And to do that, they need to cut some corners. For example, there are way fewer cylinders inside the engine bays of the GLC 43 and 63 than before.
After the second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLC was unveiled last summer, it was only a matter of time before the AMG division took a swing at the compact crossover SUV and now the Affalterbach-based performance sub-brand wants us to think the four-pots are nice and dandy. The GLC 43 has a turbocharged 2.0-liter with MHEV technology and churns out 416 hp and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) – more than its predecessor's 385-hp V6 – so the 60 mph (96 kph) sprint is also better at 4.7 seconds.
The mightier Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance, meanwhile, rocks the same 2.0L four-pot plus an EDU (Electrical Drive Unit) for the rear axle to flex 671 hp and no less than 752 lb-ft (1,020 Nm) of combined torque. That's enough for a sprint to 60 in just 3.4 seconds, but no electric range was provided for the meager 6.1 kWh battery pack! So, maybe the GLC 63 needs additional perks to make it worth the big fat paycheck asked by Mercedes-AMG worldwide.
No worries. The imaginative realm of digital car content creators has us covered. A couple of virtual automotive artists - kelsonik and j.b.cars - have taken a liking to Mercedes-AMG's new high-performance crossover SUV and wanted it cooler. Since they can't give it a thundering V8 mill to make sure it has a nice, throaty voice – the visuals are the only ones they can really influence outside of the real world.
For example, Nikita Chuicko went all out on the color options – with gray, blue, green, black, and also pink options. The POVs are also much more likable – from the front and back – because the all-new GLC 63 also rides posher on large, 23-inch Brabus aftermarket wheels. Plus, the menacing performance figures are now supported visually by the full window and windshield tint, the blacked-out grille, and badges – it's basically his signature 'Shadow Line' without calling it so.
Secondly, the pixel master hiding behind the j.b.cars moniker on social media went directly at the top of the Brabus playground and quickly reworked in his latest edit the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance into a plug-in hybrid Brabus Rocket. Oh, and he also changed the exhaust outlets into round ones because it seems that many automotive fans do not admit any other geometrical pattern for that functional design element! So, which one is your favorite?
As such, we should wonder - are the Germans ready or not for the potential 2035 band of ICE-powered vehicles? Probably not, if you ask us. But they are indeed prepared to try and sell as many crossovers and SUVs as they can, in the meantime. And to do that, they need to cut some corners. For example, there are way fewer cylinders inside the engine bays of the GLC 43 and 63 than before.
After the second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLC was unveiled last summer, it was only a matter of time before the AMG division took a swing at the compact crossover SUV and now the Affalterbach-based performance sub-brand wants us to think the four-pots are nice and dandy. The GLC 43 has a turbocharged 2.0-liter with MHEV technology and churns out 416 hp and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) – more than its predecessor's 385-hp V6 – so the 60 mph (96 kph) sprint is also better at 4.7 seconds.
The mightier Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance, meanwhile, rocks the same 2.0L four-pot plus an EDU (Electrical Drive Unit) for the rear axle to flex 671 hp and no less than 752 lb-ft (1,020 Nm) of combined torque. That's enough for a sprint to 60 in just 3.4 seconds, but no electric range was provided for the meager 6.1 kWh battery pack! So, maybe the GLC 63 needs additional perks to make it worth the big fat paycheck asked by Mercedes-AMG worldwide.
No worries. The imaginative realm of digital car content creators has us covered. A couple of virtual automotive artists - kelsonik and j.b.cars - have taken a liking to Mercedes-AMG's new high-performance crossover SUV and wanted it cooler. Since they can't give it a thundering V8 mill to make sure it has a nice, throaty voice – the visuals are the only ones they can really influence outside of the real world.
For example, Nikita Chuicko went all out on the color options – with gray, blue, green, black, and also pink options. The POVs are also much more likable – from the front and back – because the all-new GLC 63 also rides posher on large, 23-inch Brabus aftermarket wheels. Plus, the menacing performance figures are now supported visually by the full window and windshield tint, the blacked-out grille, and badges – it's basically his signature 'Shadow Line' without calling it so.
Secondly, the pixel master hiding behind the j.b.cars moniker on social media went directly at the top of the Brabus playground and quickly reworked in his latest edit the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance into a plug-in hybrid Brabus Rocket. Oh, and he also changed the exhaust outlets into round ones because it seems that many automotive fans do not admit any other geometrical pattern for that functional design element! So, which one is your favorite?
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