Tag Archives: Mercedes-Benz

NEW CARS

Mercedes-Benz VLE: The Electric Grand Limousine That Thinks Like a Van and Drives Like a Benz

For decades, luxury and practicality have lived in different garages. Limousines delivered comfort and prestige; vans handled the messy business of space and versatility. Now Mercedes-Benz is trying something ambitious: building a vehicle that genuinely does both.

Enter the all-new electric Mercedes-Benz VLE, a machine the company calls a Grand Limousine—and for once the marketing hyperbole might actually fit.

Built on the brand-new Van Architecture, the VLE isn’t just another electrified people mover. It’s a clean-sheet rethink of what a luxury family hauler, executive shuttle, or adventure machine could be in the electric age. And if Mercedes’ numbers hold up, it could be one of the most compelling long-range EVs in the segment.

A Van That Doesn’t Look Like One

The first surprise is the shape.

Rather than the upright slab-sided silhouette typical of MPVs, the VLE sits low and sleek, with a stretched roofline that flows into a smooth rear end. The result is an impressively slippery drag coefficient of just 0.25—a number that would make many sedans jealous.

Up front, Mercedes reinterprets its signature grille with an illuminated frame and a continuous light strip connecting star-shaped daytime running lights. The rear answers with a dramatic inverted-U light signature integrated into the spoiler lip, giving the VLE a distinctive nighttime identity.

It’s still clearly a van. But it’s a van dressed for the opera.

The Interior Is Basically a Moving Lounge

Open one of the electric sliding doors and the VLE’s mission becomes obvious: space.

This is a vehicle that can seat up to eight people, yet the cabin feels closer to a luxury lounge than a minibus. The highlight is the massive Sky View panoramic roof, stretching from the B-pillar all the way to the rear, flooding the cabin with light while ambient lighting wraps the interior in Mercedes’ signature glow.

Then there’s the party trick hidden in the headliner.

At the command of “Hey Mercedes,” a 31-inch retractable 8K panoramic screen glides down from the roof, turning the rear cabin into a cinema, gaming lounge, or mobile conference room. The system supports split-screen viewing and even integrates an 8-megapixel camera for video meetings.

Pair that with an optional 22-speaker Burmester 3D surround system with Dolby Atmos, and the VLE becomes less of a vehicle and more of a rolling entertainment suite.

Seats That Literally Perform a Ballet

One of the VLE’s cleverest ideas is its seating system.

Manual seats feature integrated wheels, allowing them to slide, reposition, or be completely removed and rolled into your garage. Need cargo space for bikes, skis, or camping gear? Pull the seats out and you’re done.

But the real showstopper is Remote Variable Rear Space.

Using the infotainment system or smartphone app, the electric seats can rearrange themselves automatically—almost like a choreographed performance. Mercedes even built preset modes:

  • Baggage Mode: pushes seats forward for maximum cargo space
  • Executive Mode: stretches legroom for VIP passengers
  • People & Baggage: balanced space for passengers and luggage
  • Standard Mode: default seating layout

The top-tier Grand Comfort Seat adds massage, calf support, wireless charging, and an extra pillow—because apparently road trips should now resemble spa visits.

A Limousine Ride… With Van Practicality

Mercedes insists the VLE drives like a proper luxury car—and the hardware suggests they might be right.

The van rides on AIRMATIC air suspension with 40 mm of height adjustment, designed to smooth out rough roads while reducing aerodynamic drag at speed.

More impressive is the seven-degree rear-axle steering, shrinking the turning circle to just 10.9 meters—roughly the same as a compact sedan. That’s a big deal for a vehicle capable of hauling eight passengers.

Translation: parking garages and tight city streets shouldn’t feel like wrestling a bus.

700 Kilometers of Range Changes the Game

Under the floor sits a 115-kWh battery feeding a highly efficient electric drivetrain.

Key numbers:

  • Range: more than 700 km (WLTP)
  • Charging: up to 355 km added in 15 minutes
  • Fast charging: up to 300 kW thanks to 800-volt architecture

The base VLE 300 electric produces 203 kW, while the upcoming VLE 400 4MATIC adds dual motors and more than 300 kW, dropping the 0–100 km/h sprint to 6.5 seconds—sports-sedan territory for something this large.

Even better, the system delivers 93% battery-to-wheel efficiency, an impressive figure for a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a small apartment.

The Brain: Mercedes’ New Operating System

The VLE also marks the debut of MB.OS, Mercedes’ next-generation software platform.

It powers everything from driver assistance to infotainment and navigation, linking the vehicle to the cloud for over-the-air updates and new features long after purchase.

Inside, the MBUX Superscreen stretches across the dashboard with three displays under a single glass surface:

  • 10.25-inch driver display
  • 14-inch central touchscreen
  • 14-inch passenger screen

The system integrates generative AI—including ChatGPT-style conversational abilities—allowing the virtual assistant to handle complex requests with memory and natural dialogue.

In theory, it behaves less like voice control and more like a knowledgeable digital co-driver.

The Van That Wants to Replace Everything

Mercedes clearly envisions the VLE as more than a niche luxury shuttle.

It’s designed to be:

  • a family road-trip machine
  • an executive transport
  • an adventure vehicle with 2.5-ton towing capacity
  • or a mobile office

With up to 4,078 liters of cargo space when the seats are removed, it can haul bikes, skis, boats, or caravans just as easily as VIP passengers.

That’s the whole point of the Van Architecture: one platform capable of morphing into dozens of lifestyles.

The Big Picture

The VLE is Mercedes-Benz attempting something bold: merging the limousine and the van into a single electric flagship.

If it works, it could redefine the luxury people mover the same way the S-Class once redefined the luxury sedan.

And in a world where families, executives, and adventurers increasingly want space, range, and technology in one package, the idea suddenly makes a lot of sense.

Because sometimes the most radical luxury car isn’t a coupe or a sedan.

Sometimes it’s a van.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

Tuning

America Meets the 1000-HP Shooting Brake No One Asked For

Eighteen months after it first stunned the tuning world, the Rocket GTS has finally landed in the U.S.—and it didn’t arrive quietly. Based on the Mercedes-Benz AMG SL 63, this reimagined Shooting Brake now wears a full green carbon-fiber suit and carries a price tag of $1,387,081. Yes, that’s hypercar territory. No, it doesn’t apologize.

The SL has always been the boulevard bruiser in the portfolio of Mercedes-Benz, and in modern AMG form it’s already less silk scarf, more switchblade. But what happens when you hand it to Mercedes-AMG’s wildest aftermarket interpreter and say, “Do your worst”? You get this.

The original show car flaunted exposed carbon like a flexed bicep. This U.S.-bound example goes deeper: an all-carbon body bathed in a translucent emerald hue. In direct sunlight, the weave shimmers beneath the lacquer like reptile skin. Subtle? Not remotely. Spectacular? Absolutely.

The reshaped rear and extended roofline will split dinner conversations straight down the middle. Purists may clutch their roadster credentials, but there’s a strange coherence to it. The SL’s long hood and cab-rearward proportions actually welcome the added roof stretch. The Shooting Brake treatment feels less like a graft and more like an evolution—one drawn by someone who owns several carbon-fiber briefcases.

A Cabin That Refuses to Whisper

If you were hoping the interior might dial things back, abandon that thought immediately.

Nearly every surface—seats, door panels, gearshift tunnel, headliner, even the floor mats—is drenched in matching green leather and Alcantara. The few components spared the hide treatment are finished in green-tinted carbon fiber. It’s less “accent color” and more “monochromatic takeover.”

The craftsmanship, predictably, is impeccable. The audacity, unmistakable. It feels like the inside of a concept car that somehow escaped the auto-show turntable and started asking for premium fuel.

Four Digits, Two Turbos, One Thousand Reasons

Of course, a seven-figure tuner special needs more than dramatic tailoring. Under the hood sits an upgraded 4.5-liter twin-turbo V8 paired with the same plug-in hybrid system used in the SL 63 E Performance. The combined output? A clean, round 1,000 horsepower and 1,620 Nm of torque.

Performance claims read like a physics glitch:

  • 0–100 km/h (62 mph): 2.6 seconds
  • 0–200 km/h (124 mph): 9.5 seconds
  • 0–300 km/h (186 mph): 23.6 seconds
  • Top speed: 317 km/h (197 mph), electronically limited

For context, those numbers place it squarely in modern hypercar company—while offering a cargo area large enough for a weekend’s worth of designer luggage.

The Million-Dollar Question

Spending nearly $1.4 million on a modified SL sounds extravagant, even in today’s inflated performance market. But exclusivity is the point. This isn’t just an SL turned up to eleven; it’s a redefinition of what that platform can be. It’s equal parts grand tourer, muscle car, and rolling design experiment.

The Rocket GTS doesn’t try to blend in. It doesn’t even try to convince you. It simply arrives—green, loud, and unapologetically expensive—and dares you to look away.

You won’t.

Source: Brabus

NEW CARS

Mini G-Wagen Spotted: Same Attitude, Smaller Footprint

Mercedes-Benz is doing what every heritage brand eventually must: shrinking an icon without shrinking its ego. And if these latest Arctic spy shots are anything to go by, the so-called “Little G” might just pull it off.

A Junior G with Senior Attitude

The incoming baby brother to the legendary Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been spotted deep in winter testing near the Arctic Circle, and this is the clearest look yet at Mercedes’ new entry 4×4 ahead of its debut next year. Internally dubbed “Little G,” the model will sit at the base of an expanded G family—much like how Jaguar Land Rover has stretched the Range Rover and Defender names into full sub-brands.

Unlike the towering, nearly two-meter-tall standard G-Wagen, this newcomer is notably shorter. Earlier prototypes were photographed being dwarfed by the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, which stands 1718mm tall. Translation: this isn’t a shrunken tank; it’s more of a compact battering ram.

It will launch with both combustion and electric options, setting up an interesting duel with Land Rover’s forthcoming Defender Sport—an EV-only entry-level off-roader expected to arrive around the same time.

Blocky, Boxy, and Proud of It

The prototype seen lapping frozen test routes appears to be the EV variant, identified by a prominent floor-mounted battery pack visible at the rear. And despite its smaller footprint, the styling sticks religiously to the G-Class playbook.

You still get the upright stance. The squared-off greenhouse. The classic three-window side profile. And yes, the rear-mounted spare-wheel housing—though in the electric version, like the Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology, that casing doubles as storage for the charging cable.

But Mercedes hasn’t simply run the G through a shrink ray.

The lighting signature appears subtly reworked, with headlamps that look like a half-circle rather than the full circular units on the larger models. It’s a clever move—instantly recognizable, but distinct enough to prevent driveway confusion.

Roof bars are also fitted to the test car, hinting that this entry-level G might lean more toward “active lifestyle” than ultra-lux expedition vehicle. Think bikes on the roof, muddy boots in the back, and fewer champagne flutes in the cupholders.

Not Just a Parts-Bin Special

If you assumed this would be a G-themed body slapped onto an existing platform, Mercedes wants you to think again.

Former tech boss Markus Schäfer has made it clear: this thing is riding on a bespoke architecture. He describes it as a “miniature ladder-frame chassis”—not a full traditional ladder frame like the big G, but engineered to preserve its suspension robustness and wheel proportions.

In other words, authenticity over efficiency.

Schäfer has admitted the Little G uses a surprisingly high number of unique components—far more than corporate accountants typically prefer. Body panels, structural elements, even the door handles are reportedly bespoke. (Apparently you can’t just borrow handles from the parts bin when your big brother has door hardware that sounds like a bank vault closing.)

Sharper, Younger, Still Iconic

From a design standpoint, Mercedes is walking a tightrope.

Former design chief Gorden Wagener calls the look a “tweaked” G-Class—slightly sharper, slightly younger, but unmistakably G. The headlight graphics will be more modern, though still circular in spirit. The overall silhouette remains defiantly boxy.

That restraint is intentional. You don’t redesign an icon; you refine it.

And the G-Class is about as close to untouchable as automotive design gets. It’s survived military origins, AMG excess, and now electrification without losing its identity. The Little G’s job is to broaden the appeal without diluting the myth.

The Big Question

The real test won’t be whether it looks like a G. It clearly does.

The question is whether it drives like one—whether that miniature ladder-frame philosophy delivers the toughness and presence buyers expect. If Mercedes has managed to distill the spirit of the G into a smaller, more accessible package without turning it into a fashion accessory on stilts, it could have a genuine hit on its hands.

A junior G-Class sounds like a contradiction. But then again, so did an electric one—and that turned out just fine.

Next year, we’ll find out whether the smallest G can carry the biggest badge.

Source: Autocar