Meet the new Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe

Ahead of its world premiere at the upcoming North American International Auto Show (Detroit Auto Show) next month, Mercedes-Benz has officially taken the wraps off its all-new GLE Coupe. The offering is a derivative of the regular four-door M-Class that incorporates a coupe-like roof-line, and will compete primarily with the BMW’s X6. Also, the GLE Coupe marks the introduction of all-new AMG Sport range of vehicles, with the GLE 450 AMG. The new range sits between brand's AMG Sports package-fitted range-topping variants and full-blown AMG models.'

The GLE 450 AMG Coupe is our first sports model, and further highly emotional and performance-oriented models will follow in the near future,” Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, said in a statement. “The new product line from Mercedes-AMG has allowed us to make true sports car technology and the fascination of motorsports more accessible.”

Pinned on the same steel monocoque platform, both the new offerings gets a common 2915mm wheelbase. For a larger footprint and added handling prowess, the SUVs receives modified axle geometry with track widths increased by 3mm at the front and 60mm at the rear over those of the M-class' 1658mm and 1725mm respectively.

Mercedes-Benz has employed a handful of different engines under the hood of GLE Coupe. The GLE 350 d 4MATIC comes with 258 bhp and 620 Nm of peak torque, while the GLE 400 4MATIC has a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 engine that develops 333 bhp and 480 Nm of peak torque. Last but not least, the aforementioned GLE 450 AMG is the most powerful of the lot, with a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 that produces 367 bhp and 520 Nm of peak torque. The gearbox is a 9G-Tronic 9-speed automatic transmissions with Dynamic Select helps ensure the 4Matic permanent all-wheel-drive system is always applying that power in the most rational way.