Mercedes Teases Production-ready GLB SUV via Facebook
Set for world debut at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show this fall, new GLB is ‘intelligent like a smartphone, as practical as a multitool.’
Hinted at as early as 2016 and arriving in concept form at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz’s latest addition to its SUV and crossover portfolio, the GLB is the company’s bridge between the entry-level subcompact GLA-Class and compact GLC-Class crossovers.
Since the production-ready GLB is coming closer to hitting the assembly line, Mercedes decided to tease the new crossover on its Facebook page, describing it as being “intelligent like a smartphone, and as practical as a multitool” (the latter available in wood and black finishes via Mercedes-Benz’s U.S. Lifestyle Store).
What do we know about the upcoming GLB? For starters, our friends at Motor Authority (who recently posted a few spy shots of the crossover) says it will be “a larger, more rugged offering with styling influenced by the automaker’s bigger SUVs” like the G-Wagen and GLS-Class. The crossover is built upon Mercedes-Benz’s the next-gen edition of the MFA platform, dubbed MFA2, which is already out and about in China supporting the long-wheelbase version of the A-Class.
Motor Authority adds that the new SUV will receive a 2.0-liter turbo-four with 188 horses and 221 lb-ft of torque to move the luxury crossover along. And for those wanting AMG to bring more power to the party, our friends say a GLB 35 is in the works, as well as a possible GLB 45. Finally, the GLB could have a fully electric sibling, too, in the form of the EQB, which Motor1 says could arrive in 2021.
As for when the production-ready GLB will arrive, Mercedes-Benz Passion says it could make its debut at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show in September. From there, it’ll hit showrooms before this year is out.
Of course, that’s for European models. Over here in the United States, Motor1 says the GLB should arrive in showrooms from Mercedes-Benz’s factory in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where the A-Class has been built since the middle of 2018, per MexicoNow. The GLB will have five- and seven-seat configurations, with power going to the front or or all corners via either manual or automatic transmissions.
Photos: Mercedes-Benz
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