Next-Gen Mercedes-Benz GLS SUV Is Highly Suitable For The Flagship Models

Mercedes Benz next-gen GLS preview！The Vision Iconic design language is highly suitable for the flagship models.
 

While many other automakers, such as BMW and Lexus, are trying to slim down their oversized radiator grilles to demonstrate that less is more, their rivals at Mercedes-Benz are going in the opposite direction.
 
The latest battle of the grilles kicked off in September when BMW introduced the second-generation iX3 luxury compact EV crossover SUV, featuring a 2002 Turbo-inspired slim and tall grille. Mercedes-Benz countered with the GLC, which boasts EQ Technology and an illuminated, reinterpreted grille as its most striking design element.
 
At Mercedes, the new grille style features a wide chrome frame, 942 integrated LED pixels, and a lit contour. The options include animations, as well as a lit central star – but there’s also a standard unlit version, as well. The design is modern, but it’s aimed at remembering the style of models like the W123 ‘Cobra’ series, which is the single best-selling series with almost 2.7 million units produced from 1975 to 1986.
 

Not everyone believed that Mercedes-Benz could pull this new design off, but now all doubts have been shattered by October’s arrival of the Vision Iconic, which is a stunning grand tourer obviously inspired by the 300 SL Gullwing and the concept that shows the company knows how to make the oversized grille look good. On the GT, the shield grille feels inspired by the W100 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman six-door limousines.
 
Naturally, the black prototype – which also features innovative technologies such as Level 4 autonomous driving, neuromorphic computing that mimics the human brain to enhance the AI’s capabilities, and a solar coating to increase range – has attracted considerable attention from around the world. That includes the parallel universes of vehicular CGI.
 
Over there, a particular member of the imaginative guild of digital car content creators has already begun envisioning what the next-generation Mercedes-Benz models might look like if they’re heavily influenced by the GLC with EQ Technology, especially the Vision Iconic concept car.
 

More precisely, Sugar Chow, the virtual artist better known as “sugardesign_1” on social media, has decided to CGI present his vision for the next flagship limousine and SUV from Mercedes-Benz before anything else. Initially, the pixel master transformed the Vision Iconic into a four-door model and, obviously, called it an unofficial, hypothetical Mercedes-Benz S-Class design project.
 
Now the CGI expert is ready to mix the GLC with EQ Technology and the Vision Iconic into a high-riding creation – the fourth generation of the Mercedes-Benz GLS flagship full-size luxury crossover SUV. Since the current model was introduced in 2019 and the 2024 model year brought a mid-cycle refresh, it wouldn’t be surprising to see an all-new iteration arrive for the 2027 or 2028 model year, frankly.
 
However, it remains to be seen if it will adopt the style of the Vision Iconic like this fake CUV. So, what do you think – yay or nay?