Mercedes-Benz likes to do a little of everything, it seems – all with a touch of luxury. As such, you can work hard with a Mercedes truck or Unimog and party harder with the AMG or Maybach divisions.
Mercedes-Benz GLE Should We Say E Performance
Alas, the truth is that Mercedes’ big revenue comes from everything that sits in between, such as the C-Class compact executive cars or the mid-sized GLE crossover SUVs. Speaking of the latter, the model was formerly known as the Mercedes-Benz M-Class between 1997 and 2015, switching to the new GLE moniker with the facelifted W166 third generation.
The fourth iteration arrived in 2019 and is produced in America – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (MBUSI), India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia as a model that rivals the Cadillac CT6, BMW X5, or Audi Q7 plus Land Rover Range Rover Sport, among others. For the 2024 model year, the Mercedes-Benz GLE was refreshed, complete with redesigned headlights and taillights, a new steering wheel, fresh wheels, and a new GLE 450e plug-in hybrid version to better compete with the likes of the Porsche Cayenne or Audi Q8.
Usually, it’s a fairly mild and mannered mid-size luxury crossover SUV, but the AMG division also does its magic tricks with the series and the GLE 53 plus GLE 63 feature plug-in hybrid inline-six turbo and V8 turbo with EQ Boost powertrains, with up to 603 horsepower and 850 Nm or 627 lb-ft of torque on tap. But what if that’s not enough?
For example, a member of the imaginative guild of digital car content creators dwelling across the parallel universes of vehicular CGI has come up with a solution. The virtual automotive artist behind the Evren Ozgun Spy Sketch channel on YouTube has a ‘slightly’ different interpretation of the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63. His unofficial, hypothetical design project features a new design for the Affalterbach-enhanced version, and the flashy looks make us think that the author had in mind to present it as his vision for the fifth-generation Mercedes-Benz GLE.
With that in mind, it’s possible that we could go one step further and imagine it with the plug-in hybrid powertrain of the recently announced 2025 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance 4-Door Coupe. In 2026 Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S E Performance form, the big crossover SUV would get a handmade twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 mill under the hood plus a single electric motor affixed to the rear axle and the nine-speed AMG Speedshift automatic transmission.
The V8 alone produces 30 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, but the combined output jumps to no less than 831 hp and 1,032 lb-ft – so it needs the standard 4Matic+ all-wheel drive and AMG Ride Control+ suspension as standard perks. So, what do you think – could this be the future of the AMG GLE as a way to outperform the next-gen BMW X5 M?
