Mercedes-Benz GLC EV flaunts new fake grille ahead of launch

Mercedes-Benz has posted the first teaser pic of the next-generation GLC crossover now running on electricity and nothing else. It will debut at the IAA Munich expo on September 7 and will usher in “a new era of Mercedes brand design”, per the company.

Mercedes rightfully believes that the radiator grille is one of its most iconic details of all time, instantly recognizable all around the world. Reimagining the Mercedes grille for an all-electric vehicle is both a revolutionary and a symbolic act, the company argues.

If you look at the result, it retains the tri-point star badge in the middle but otherwise looks brand new. For starters, it is much larger than a typical Mercedes grille and comes with a rather thick chrome bezel. It also has only three horizontal bars, likely because it doesn’t have to dissipate any engine heat anymore. Entry-level models will ship with simple contour-based LED backlight, while the top trims will receive a matrix of 942 diode pixels that owners will be able to display custom images and animations on.

The headlights and the front bumper are also partially visible. The company claims that the car will ship with the latest version of the Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS), dubbed “Superbrain” for its impressive computational capabilities. The dashboard display known as the Hyperscreen will also be present with some improvements from version 1. All other details are pending.

Mercedes posted official images of the new GLC running pre-production tests early this spring. Back then, the company announced “all-new powertrain units” for the model and claimed that the battery charging power would be upped to 320 kW.