Photo: SB-Medien
The second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class continues its development with a quick session of Nurburgring testing. It's there that our latest spyshots captured it next to one of the brand's billboards celebrating the 50th anniversary of the AMG brand.
50 year: that is a long time if you think about it. The technology we have in today's cars would be almost unrecognizable to an engineer back in the 60's.
Because they use V8 engines, everybody thinks that AMG is the performance division with a luxury side, making heavy but fast cars. Not true! It was more about taking saloons with sporty potential and stuffing them with the biggest, most powerful engines available.
If you want to know more, we highly recommend check out our coverstory on the coolest obscure AMG models. After seeing a tiny A-Class stuffed with a 3.2-liter V6, you're not going to look at the GLS the same way.
These Nurburgring spyshots show the regular model, but the 63 AMG version was spotted last month undergoing winter testing, powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces somewhere in the region of 600 horsepower.That's good, but it's not the biggest engine they have. That honor belongs to the V12.
There's also the small matter of Mercedes making performance SUVs without ever racing them. It's a weird thing to say, we know, but Lamborghini recently promised that the Urus would see some action.
Getting back to the subject of the GLS on the Nurburgring, the prototype exhibits quite a lot of body lean, which is to be expected for a vehicle of this size. Sure, the Germans might be able to shed a few pounds by using aluminum and other lightweight materials, but it's not going to go below two tons, partly because of all the technology that will be offered - everything from radar to massaging rear seats.
As far as the powertrains are concerned, we believe that most will be of the 4-liter V8 or 3-liter inline-6 variety (technically 2.9L). The range will closely mirror that of the S-Class, as well as the smaller GLE model that's currently under development.
Because they use V8 engines, everybody thinks that AMG is the performance division with a luxury side, making heavy but fast cars. Not true! It was more about taking saloons with sporty potential and stuffing them with the biggest, most powerful engines available.
If you want to know more, we highly recommend check out our coverstory on the coolest obscure AMG models. After seeing a tiny A-Class stuffed with a 3.2-liter V6, you're not going to look at the GLS the same way.
These Nurburgring spyshots show the regular model, but the 63 AMG version was spotted last month undergoing winter testing, powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces somewhere in the region of 600 horsepower.That's good, but it's not the biggest engine they have. That honor belongs to the V12.
There's also the small matter of Mercedes making performance SUVs without ever racing them. It's a weird thing to say, we know, but Lamborghini recently promised that the Urus would see some action.
Getting back to the subject of the GLS on the Nurburgring, the prototype exhibits quite a lot of body lean, which is to be expected for a vehicle of this size. Sure, the Germans might be able to shed a few pounds by using aluminum and other lightweight materials, but it's not going to go below two tons, partly because of all the technology that will be offered - everything from radar to massaging rear seats.
As far as the powertrains are concerned, we believe that most will be of the 4-liter V8 or 3-liter inline-6 variety (technically 2.9L). The range will closely mirror that of the S-Class, as well as the smaller GLE model that's currently under development.
Google News