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The Mercedes-Benz X-Class has been revealed in concept form – ahead of its late-2017 debut as the world’s first luxury ute.
With a combination of three-pointed-star attributes and one-tonne-carrying capability it’s not surprising Australia has been named as one of four key continents for the model, along with Europe, South America and South Africa.
Mercedes-Benz is investing about a billion Euros ($1.4b) on a model that might have been viewed as an April fool’s joke not so many years ago but is now a smart move into a serious, fast-growing market.
They include active families, commercial users, and landowners.
A yellow ‘Powerful adventurer’ with black body-cladding is designed to appeal to the traditional ute buyer, with tougher looks and all-terrain capability highlighted by massive 35-inch off-road tyres, higher ground clearance, and winches front and rear.
The production Mercedes-Benz X-Class is not expected to look radically different when it reaches Australia in early 2018, even if the varied LED tailgate light designs are purely conceptual.
The X-Class ladder-frame chassis is a modified version of the underpinnings found beneath a Nissan Navara (and upcoming Renault Alaskan). The Mercedes adopts the company’s 4Matic all-wheel-drive system, and features a dual-range transfer case.
Mercedes is quoting a payload capacity of 1.1 tonnes and a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, which will make the X-Class more than competitive in a busy segment.
Volker Mornhinweg, the boss of Mercedes-Benz Vans, the division under which the X-Class will sit, said Mercedes characteristics would broaden the appeal of a ute.
“Our future X-Class will be a pickup that knows no compromise. We will thus appeal to new customers who have not considered owning a pickup before.”
