Mercedes-Benz has revealed the Mercedes Ener-G-Force Concept – a tease for a future Mercedes G-Class to rival the Range Rover.
[nggallery id=1307 template=customlinks]
For starters, the Ener-G-Force Concept is arriving at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month all dressed up as a Highway Patrol Vehicle as Mercedes’ entry in to the Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge. But it’s also pointing firmly towards Mercedes plans to give Land Rover – and in particular Range Rover – a run for their money.
The Ener-G-Force is based on the style and presence of the G-Class, with a big, bluff nose sporting headlamps that form a ‘G’ shape, a three part (smaller than the G-Class) glass area, big 20″ wheels and a pull-out compartment at the back that looks like the spare wheel carrier on the G-Class.
The concept Ener-G-Force is powered by four hydrogen-powered electric motors mounted in the wheels with power for the fuel cell provided by a Hydro-Tech Converter using water from container in the roof to produce the hydrogen for the fuel cell. A bit sci-fi, but appealing.
Gorden Wagener, Director of Design at Mercedes, said of the Ener-G-Force:
The Ener-G-Force is the vision of an off-roader that, while reflecting tomorrow’s adventures, also invokes the genes of the Mercedes-Benz off-road icon, the G model. Modern and cool, it could also be a clue about a new beginning for the off-road design idiom of Mercedes-Benz.
It might not arrive tomorrow, but you can be sure a Mercedes G-Class that tries to emulate the 2013 Range Rover – and at least one other new Mercedes SUV to take on the Evoque – will arrive long before 2025.
Have your say - leave a comment