SPY PICS: Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 hits the ’Ring

Just over a month after the new Mercedes-Benz GLC debuted globally, the fire-breathing 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 has been spotted lapping the Nürburgring with less camouflage than we’ve seen previously.

While our spy shooters said the performance flagship of the all-new mid-size luxury SUV range lacked the sonorous V8 bellow of its predecessor, there was no mistaking this semi-disguised prototype as anything but the new GLC 63.

That’s because the car you see here adds quad rhomboid exhaust outlets, an aggressive front bumper, power-domed bonnet, big wheel and brake package, unique rear bumper and, according to our photographer, seriously quick pace around the 21km Green Hell road course.

Underneath that pumped-up body will be the same 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain as seen in the related Mercedes-AMG C 63 sports sedan, which in S E Performance guise churns out a combined 500kW/1020Nm.

The hyperactive sedan stops the 0-100km/h clock in a claimed 3.4 seconds, suggesting the taller and inevitably heavier GLC version will be quicker than the V8 model it replaces (3.8sec).

The outgoing AMG GLC 63 was already as quick as the larger GLE 63 as well as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q, Audi RS Q8, the upcoming Maserati Grecale Trofeo and Competition versions of the BMW X3, X4, X5 and X6 M, so it would only need to better the 3.7sec mark of the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and Tesla Model Y Performance to be the world’s quickest mid-size SUV.

Filling the gap between the vanilla variants and the supercar-scaring GLC 63 will inevitably be a circa-300kW AMG CLC 43 variant fitted with a mild-hybrid system as opposed to the flagship’s more advanced plug-in powertrain.

We’ve actually seen this particular variant before, prowling around Stuttgart with a half-baked camo wrap and smaller wheels than the bespoke AMG units seen underneath this latest navy blue vehicle.

There’s a fair bit of conjecture surrounding the reveal and subsequent release timing of the high-riding AMG duo, especially when it comes to the two different body styles.

Based on the timeline of the latest Mercedes-Benz C-Class, we expect the new GLC 43 wagon to be released in Europe sometime this year, before the full-fat GLC 63 breaks cover further down the track, possibly even in tandem with the CLC 43 Coupe.

The 63 ‘coupe’ will inevitably be the last GLC variant to be launched globally and likely won’t arrive Down Under until late next year or even early 2025, given standard versions of the new GLC wagon and coupe aren’t due in local showrooms until the fourth quarter of 2023.

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