5
NEWS
SPY PICS: ML Mercedes facelift photos
Heavily clad test mule pictured here could be the expected BMW X6-style, MLC Mercedes-Benz “coupe”These Automedia photos taken near the Arctic Circle indicate Mercedes-Benz is up to something with its ML-Class SUV.
Although the test mule photographs show what looks to be a regular ML swathed in spy-proof cladding, something a little more than meets the eye is almost certain to be going on.
Against the background chatter concerning the development of a BMW X6-style Benz SUV, called the MLC, could this be a matter of component testing using the regular ML body as a cover?
It’s been known for some time that Benz is planning a challenger for BMW’s X5-based X6 sports SUV – sorry, SAC, or Sports Activity Coupe – to be launched in 2015 as a 2016 model.
Word is the MLC will lean towards slick style and on-road dynamics than is normal for a large SUV, although the base running gear will be taken directly from the ML.
A clue in these photos to the five-door SUV coupe could be in the front and rear wheel arches, which appear to have been pumped out over those of the regular ML-Class Benz, to accommodate wider tracks. Rumour also has it that the MLC will be longer than the ML, but whether that will include a stretched wheelbase is unknown. More likely the rear of the car will be extended further to accommodate a more flowing profile.
Observers are saying the MLC will be built alongside the ML-Class in the US at the company’s plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It has also been suggested a concept car could be revealed some time in 2014 as a preview of the upcoming five-door coupe.
– with Automedia
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