There’s been talk about a baby Mercedes-Benz G-Class for many years, as well as turning the G-Class into an off-road-focused sub-brand. The first tangible result of the talk was the GLB, sharing the upright G proportions with the longtime legend but almost nothing else. German outlet Handelsblatt says its spoke to sources at the Mercedes mothership who said CEO Ola Källenius is pushing for a “Mini-G” that would arrive around 2026. With the German automaker having chewed on the idea so long — through two CEOs — this is not an outrageous rumor. Problem is, what little has been described about the vehicle in question makes it sound a lot like the current GLB.
Handelsblatt’s word from sources were that the crossover would sit on the Mercedes Modular Architecture that will first slide under the next-gen CLA in 2024, then the GLA, GLB, and CLA Shooting Brake. That would necessarily make the Mini-G shorter and lower to the ground, with looks that resemble but don’t mimic the G-Class. The 2023 GLB 250 4Matic is 182.4 inches long, 79.5 inches wide, and 65.2 inches tall, on a 111.4-inch wheelbase providing 6.1 inches of ground clearance. The 2020 G 550 189.7 inches long, 86.1 inches wide, and 77.5 inches tall on a 113.8-inch wheelbase providing 9.5 inches of ground clearance. Dimensionally and aesthetically, there’s room in there for a Mini-G that looks like a shrunken version of the original; last year, spy photographers caught a jacked-up mule hidden under a third-generation C-Class, possible a baby G, that C-Class having a wheelbase of 111.8 inches.
The story says the Mini-G, like the GLB and G-Class, would offer electric and ICE powertrains, the former able to go at least 310 miles on a charge and refill quickly thanks to an 800-volt architecture. Seems real finely sliced to us. Perhaps Källenius sees this as the German version of the Ford Escape (GLB), Bronco Sport (Mini-G), Bronco (G-Class) relationship, however, and the trio has definitely worked out for Ford. A key line from the Handelsblatt story that’s been overlooked, however, is, “[The] Stuttgart-based carmaker is developing entirely new vehicle types, such as a mix of SUV and sedan specifically for Chinese customers. Perhaps the most daring new product in the coming years is likely to be a compact car that is said to have strong visual similarities to the G-Class.” So it’s possible this plan has only that market in mind.
Now, if what Källenius has in mind is a production version of the Ener-G-Force concept from 2012 (shown above and below) that maintains the concept’s Tonka Toy ethos, then, come on. Let’s get this going, and get that bad boy here mach schnell.
Source: www.autoblog.com