2027 Mercedes-Benz GLC EV exterior leaked days ahead of launch

The exterior of the all-electric Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology has appeared online a few days before its official unveiling on the September 7, European time.

Its unclear how these promotional photos were obtained, but they have appeared on the Mercedes-Benz subreddit and the Kindel Auto Instagram account.

They appear genuine and marry up with what we’ve in earlier spy photos, and show an SUV with a traditional silhouette that ditches the controversial aerodynamic jellybean design of the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS, and EQS SUV.

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The GLC EV makes good on the company’s promise that future EVs would look more like the rest of the Mercedes-Benz family. Unlike the EQE SUV and EQS SUV, the GLC EV has a longer, flatter nose. It also doesn’t feature a front quarter light, a feature more commonly seen on people movers.

That said, the GLC EV’s relatively round shape is in sharp contrast to the large, upright, and attention-grabbing faux grille. Tick the illuminated grille option, and the grille’s bars are fitted with 942 lighting pixels, with the frame and three-pointed star also lit up.

Flanking are a pair of headlights with the company’s new star-shaped lighting signature. That same pattern is used for the tail-lights that live within a full-width bar of tinted red plastic.

These low-res images of the GLC EV’s exterior appeared just a day after Mercedes-Benz officially revealed the interior, and its giant — reportedly optional — 39.1-inch Hyperscreen that stretches from pillar to pillar across the dashboard.

The new GLC with EQ Technology serves as a replacement for the EQC, and will compete head on with the just-revealed BMW iX3. Both the iX3 and GLC EV ride on a new dedicated EV architectures, and, badging aside, are unrelated to the their petrol- and diesel-powered X3 and GLC siblings.

The second-generation GLC that’s currently in showrooms across the world rides on the MRA2 platform, while the GLC with EQ Technology will be the first car based on the electric-only MB.EA architecture.

As such, the GLC EV will available with an 800V electrical architecture, and both single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drivetrains. The most powerful variants will have around 500kW at their disposal. 

Lower-spec variants will have lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, while top-shelf models employ a nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) chemistry. Depending on the model, range is said to be between 500 and 800 kilometres according to the WLTP standard.

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