Photo: Carlex Design
Carlex Design ignored the facelifted Mercedes GLE Coupe for its latest project and went for its predecessor instead. Dubbed the Racing Blue, it features an entirely fresh cockpit and a few exterior upgrades, and it costs a lot of money for what is still a Benz and not a full-blown AMG.
The GLE Coupe normally retails from €97,562.15 ($106,390) in the 300 d 4Matic specification in Germany and €109,783.45 ($119,717) for the 450 d 4Matic. So, how much do you think the Racing Blue is? Try €145,000 ($158,120), excluding tax. This makes it almost as pricey as the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+, which kicks off at €146,840 ($160,126) before VAT in its homeland and €174,739.60 ($190,550) when factoring in the tax. The lesser GLE 53 4Matic+ is a €120,832.60 ($131,766) affair.
Since most of the work revolves around the interior, we will start by telling you that Carlex Design bathed this GLE Coupe in blue leather. The fine upholstery can be seen on the upper and lower parts of the dashboard. It also adorns the center console, steering wheel, door cards, front and rear seats, pillars, and headliner. Several special logos further give away the vehicle's enhanced cockpit, which also features some black touches and the usual amount of carbon fiber trim. Make that usual for an AMG because this Benz has a bit too much carbon on the inside.
This isn't where they drew the line when it comes to the lightweight material, as it was also used on the outside. Here, the tuner gave the GLE Coupe a prominent apron and several bumper add-ons. With its vertical slats and decorated with the tuner's logo instead of the three-pointed star emblem, the new grille sends AMG vibes. At the rear, the executive crossover coupe has a new bumper insert with cutouts for the new exhaust tips, a roof-mounted spoiler, and another similar piece below the windscreen. The tailgate hosts Carlex's badge in the middle and another special emblem further down and toward the right.
Contributing to the aggressive look are the 22-inch wheels. Sporting a concave shape and a pattern that kind of reminds us of rally cars, they do fit the styling rather well. Carlex Design chose a satin gray look for the exterior, which pretty much rounds off the makeover. Overall, we think this style suits the GLE Coupe, especially with the AMG-like features, but instead of getting a normal Benz, albeit a heavily modified one, why not choose the 63 S model instead for similar money? After all, you'd also get the punchy bi-turbo V8, not to mention a retuned chassis, uprated brakes, and a whole bunch of other stuff that sets it apart from the lesser variants.
Since most of the work revolves around the interior, we will start by telling you that Carlex Design bathed this GLE Coupe in blue leather. The fine upholstery can be seen on the upper and lower parts of the dashboard. It also adorns the center console, steering wheel, door cards, front and rear seats, pillars, and headliner. Several special logos further give away the vehicle's enhanced cockpit, which also features some black touches and the usual amount of carbon fiber trim. Make that usual for an AMG because this Benz has a bit too much carbon on the inside.
This isn't where they drew the line when it comes to the lightweight material, as it was also used on the outside. Here, the tuner gave the GLE Coupe a prominent apron and several bumper add-ons. With its vertical slats and decorated with the tuner's logo instead of the three-pointed star emblem, the new grille sends AMG vibes. At the rear, the executive crossover coupe has a new bumper insert with cutouts for the new exhaust tips, a roof-mounted spoiler, and another similar piece below the windscreen. The tailgate hosts Carlex's badge in the middle and another special emblem further down and toward the right.
Contributing to the aggressive look are the 22-inch wheels. Sporting a concave shape and a pattern that kind of reminds us of rally cars, they do fit the styling rather well. Carlex Design chose a satin gray look for the exterior, which pretty much rounds off the makeover. Overall, we think this style suits the GLE Coupe, especially with the AMG-like features, but instead of getting a normal Benz, albeit a heavily modified one, why not choose the 63 S model instead for similar money? After all, you'd also get the punchy bi-turbo V8, not to mention a retuned chassis, uprated brakes, and a whole bunch of other stuff that sets it apart from the lesser variants.
Google News