The biggest SUV in the Mercedes range will get a new name and a new front part. The GL will become GLS.
These are the first spy shots of the upcoming facelifted 2015 Mercedes GLS, formerly known as the GL. Presented in April 2012 at the New York Autoshow, the biggest Mercedes SUV will get a facelift in less than 3 years.
The prototype seen here was spotted testing somewhere in Scandinavia, for the first time featuring camouflage over front and rear fascia, which indicates that changes will be limited to restyled bumpers, headlamps and rear lamps plus an updated grille.
According to our informations, the engine range will be absorbed unchanged. The GLS is one of the few Mercedes models which offer the same engine range in Europe and in the US market:
- V6 3.0 litre turbodiesel in GLS 350 BlueTec 4Matic (240 HP in US and 258 HP in Europe)
- V6 3.0 litre bi-turbo in GLS 400 4Matic (333 HP in Europe) and in GLS 450 4Matic (362 HP in US)
- V8 4.7 litre bi-turbo in GLS 500 4Matic (408 HP in Europe) and in GLS 550 4Matic (429 HP in US)
- V8 5.5 litre bi-turbo in GLS 63 AMG (557 HP in Europe and 550 HP in US).
It is still unclear if the GLS will get the new adaptive drive train, which will make its debut in the GLE coupe and will also be absorbed in the GLE facelift or, if this innovation will be reserved only for the next GLS generation, which is set to arrive in 2017.
According to some reports, the future GLS will be the second model in the Mercedes range to get a more luxurious Maybach version. A Maybach version would not be a surprise, due to the fact that the GLS is the SUV version belonging to the S-Class family and Mercedes must look forward for a competitor against the future Bentley SUV and BMW X7.
Before the next GLS generation, we expect the facelifted current GLS generation to be shown as early as January at the Detroit Autoshow.
