The Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupé is expected to be unveiled at the New York motor show tomorrow, and the manufacturer has released a teaser image of its all-new model.
Testing of the GLC Coupé is well underway ahead of the BMW X4 rival's expected launch in the fourth quarter of this year.
Read our 2016 Mercedes GLC 350d Coupé review here
Through the minimal disguise, the car can be seen sporting a similar rear-end design to the bigger GLE Coupé, with similar lights and a strip, likely to be finished in chrome, across the rear of the car. The front-end treatment follows that of the GLC, while the roofline tapers down before a small lip spoiler completes the rear deck.
The near-complete appearance of this Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupé test mule tells us that a debut isn’t far off; we expect the car to make its debut at the New York motor show later this month.
Previous spy shots showed a GLC Coupé test mule out with the standard GLC.
A Mercedes spokesperson suggested that the concept, which was revealed at the Shanghai motor show last year, is more similar to the production version than the spy shots we’ve seen so far would suggest. The disguised GLC Coupé has the same swooping roof design as the concept, but with smaller wheels, and it features a similar front to its GLC sibling, aside from a different grille.
Engines for the GLC Coupé will be shared with the regular Mercedes-Benz GLC, although Mercedes would not specify which engines would make it across. The GLC Coupé’s larger sibling, the GLE Coupé, carries over one petrol and one diesel V6 from its namesake, so it’s likely that one petrol and one diesel four-cylinder unit will be used in the GLC Coupé.
No official measurements for the production version are available, but at 4727mm long, 2000mm wide and 1593mm tall, the GLC Coupé concept was 57mm longer, 120mm wider and 28mm lower than the X4.
It also rode on a wheelbase that was 17mm longer than the BMW’s, at 2827mm. Compared with the outgoing GLK, it was 192mm longer, 160mm wider and 77mm lower.
The sporting SUV had a modified version of Mercedes’ modular high-strength steel MRA platform, as found beneath the latest C-Class. It was allied to aluminium-intensive suspension that uses a combination of double wishbones up front and multi-links at the rear.
Although it has not been officially confirmed, Autocar can reveal that production versions of the new swoopy-styled GLC Coupé will have the option of rear air springs, following the lead taken by the C-Class.
Power for the concept came from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine, one of a number of units that will be made available in the GLC and GLC Coupé, according to senior Mercedes sources.
The twin-turbo V6 kicks out 362bhp and 383lb ft of torque - 60bhp and 88lb ft more than the most powerful petrol-powered X4 model, the xDrive35i.
This particular engine is set to power a GLC450 Coupé AMG model, in line with moves made with the larger GLE450 Coupé Sport shown in 2015.
