Next Mercedes GLK to get AMG variant after all?
Wed, 13 Aug 2014The Mercedes-Benz GLK has stood out from the rest of the brand's portfolio for a less-than-flattering reason – it's been the sole vehicle to wear a silver arrow on the nose, but not wear an AMG-badge on its trunk (unless you count the coupe and convertible variants of the E-Class, which we don't).
The third-generation GLK (shown above), though, could break that mold and contradict a number of reports in the process. That is, if Car and Driver is proven right, and the next GLK arrives with a range-topping, 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. That engine, code-named M178, will make its debut in the Mercedes-AMG GT and is already widely expected to see duty in the C63 AMG's successor.
Car and Driver, though, is arguing that the M178 will be dispatched to basically every vehicle on a Mercedes rear-drive platform, which includes the GLK. The GLK AMG would arrive ahead of a replacement for the current E63, which in turn would spearhead the engine's arrival in high-end models, like the S-Class AMG variants (V12 fans need not worry, though, as the buff book claims the twelve-cylinder models are safe). Is the C/D crew right? We've no clue, although it does seem unlikely that M178 will be limited to just a couple of AMG models.
What do you think? Could a GLK AMG prove a viable alternative to a Porsche Macan? Have your say in Comments.
By Brandon Turkus