Mercedes is readying an update to its range-topping GLS seven-seat SUV, as these spy shots reveal. The design our spy professional photographers have identified is the ultra-luxurious Maybach version, which will go head-to-head with the Bentley Bentayga as well as Rolls Royce Cullinan. The facelift will bring styling tweaks as well as an infotainment upgrade to keep the GLS competitive with its rivals.
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On the style front the modifications will be minimal. The front end of the vehicle looks unchanged, as well as the Maybach’s smattering of chrome trim remains. The front bumper body security is completed in chrome, as is the fit together for the lower grille as well as the grille surrounds.
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The enormous, Maybach-specific radiator grille is retained, too, with a set of thin vertical bars in location of the basic car’s horizontal ones. The grille is flanked by a pair of Multibeam LED headlights of the exact same style as the present car.
This pre-production example is fitted with 22-inch alloy wheels, together with chrome trim on the sills as well as side windows. The Maybach D-pillar badge is missing from this test model, however will likely be used to completed production models.
The only meaningful style modification will be at the rear as well as the vehicle we spied uses heavy camouflage over its rear lights as well as tailgate, suggesting that the facelifted vehicle might get a new set of tail-lights. Elsewhere, there’s a gloss black lower bumper with chrome body security as well as a thin chrome trim accent, all of which are showed the outgoing Maybach.
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Inside, the GLS line-up will be brought into line with Mercedes’s most current models, featuring a new steering wheel with a double spoke style similar to that utilized in the S-Class high-end saloon.
The infotainment system will likewise be upgraded to Mercedes’ most current MBUX set-up. It’s unlikely that the new portrait-orientated touchscreen that debuted on the S-Class will make its method to the SUV, however the new GLS might get the current ‘Hey Mercedes’ voice assistant tech as well as upgraded computing hardware. A new stereoscopic 3D instrument panel, as utilized in the S-Class, may be on the cards however.
Under the skin, the new Maybach GLS is likely to be fitted with the exact same 4.0-litre AMG-built twin-turbocharged V8 engine, with 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance. Currently, this creates 549bhp as well as a healthy 730Nm of torque, however with lots of headroom in the output of the engine in this specification, the facelifted Maybach GLS may get a power boost for a lot more uncomplicated cruising as well as improved performance.
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