SPYSHOTS: 2018 Mercedes-AMG GLE63 road-testing

The next Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 uber-SUV is in the works, and in its upcoming, latest iteration it can be expected to employ the 4.0 litre biturbo V8 engine which more recently gave its service to the E 63 S.

The Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4Matic+, to give it its full name, is notable for coming with full variable all-wheel-drive as standard, which means it can shift drive completely to its rear wheels, complemented with a Drift Mode function. Though with the GLE 63 being an SUV by nature, all-wheel drive as standard is expected, but likely not with the E 63’s power-oversteering antics.

Here, we can see from the test mule’s exterior that the upcoming model will adopt the latest family look’s larger, more upright front grille, while specific to the AMG model are the oversized intakes which will be worked into the bumper design, which is shrouded by the camouflage foil here.

Around the back, the upcoming GLE follows current Mercedes-Benz design language with the current style of slim tail lamps, and on this particular AMG mule, a pair of rudimentary exhaust tips reside within housings meant for much larger, quad-tailpipe exits which will eventually find their way on to the production model.

AMG-specific hardware can be expected under the skin, with bespoke bodywork clothing reworked chassis components including suspension and brakes; as seen here, the top GLE will boast of large wheels wrapped in high-performance tarmac-biased tyres.

It’s still early days for engine output figures, though with the current top E 63 S cranking out 603 hp and 850 Nm of torque from its 4.0 litre biturbo V8, it could be safe to assume that the upcoming GLE 63 will follow its predecessor’s path in mirroring the contemporary E 63’s outputs, in two variants – a ‘base’ model, and an S variant with possibly the same peak output figures.

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