The Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance is already on sale in most of the world in both sedan and wagon forms, but since Mercedes opted to bring only the sedan to the U.S. this year, AMG fans looking for something with a little more practicality are going to be short on options.
That’s where the GLC 63 comes in. The all-new GLC lands in showrooms later this year, once again with a choice of upright SUV or fastback coupe designs, both underpinned by the same platform as the hot C-Class, and using the same PHEV engine and all-wheel drive transmission.
We’ll recap those drivetrain features in a minute, but first let’s take a look at what these most recent spy shots show. Previous prototypes featured camouflage wrap on the the front, back and the rear doors and quarters panels obscuring the shape of the window line. But this one peels back the side disguise leaving only the nose and tail covered, though even the front bumper is less heavily obscured and clues us in to how the final GLC 63 will look.
Related: New Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe Gets Mildly Electrified Hybrid Power And Larger Body
Mercedes revealed the non-AMG GLC coupe in March so we already know that it adopts the same laid-back central touchscreen, digital instrument cluster and five squircle air vents as the C-Class sedan. And given that we’ve already seen the C63 sedan you don’t need a crystal ball to imagine how an AMG version of the GLC will look with sports seats and a part-Alcantara steering wheel rim.
Neither do we need any mystic abilities to guess that the GLC 63 will follow in the C63’s downsizing footsteps and swaps its charismatic twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 for an electrified 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that will make up in horsepower what it loses in personality. If AMG drops the exact C63 package into the GLC 63, the SUV will jump from the 469 hp (476 PS) of the 2021 car (it wasn’t available for 2022-23) to 671 hp (680 PS), together with a stonking 752 lb-ft (1,020 Nm) of torque.
A 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS) electric motor inside the nine-speed transmission tops up the 470 hp (476 PS) provided by the electrically-turbocharged inline four, but this is one hybrid system whose priorities are definitely skewed towards performance and not parsimony. The C63 offers just 8 miles (13 km) of electric range from its tiny 6.1 kWh battery and unless Mercedes-AMG manages to shoehorn a bigger battery pack into the GLC’s more generous body shell, the SUV could be even stingier when it comes to electric miles.
