Mercedes-Benz has officially teased the X-Class pick-up which will make its world premiere on 18 July. The ´first of a new kind´ pick up for Mercedes-Benz was showcased in the concept guise in October last year.
Based on the Nissan Navara, the new X-Class will be a lifestyle pick-up vehicle from the German carmaker. A prototype of the pick-up was spotted a few weeks back and the vehicle looks a lot more practical and promising than it did in the Concept guise. The Stuttgart-based carmaker showcased the X-Class with two versions of the Concept – a lifestyle hauler and an off-roader. It remains to be seen which version the production spec will adopt.
In the teaser video, the utilitarian pick-up is shown to be taking down everything from rain, snow, desert and the concrete jungle. The prototype in the spy shot was spotted testing the new X-Class for hauling and go-anywhere credentials, which indicates that the carmaker will emphasise on the pick-up’s practical applications. Mercedes-Benz has boasted of a payload capacity of 1.1 tonnes in the bed and a towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes while showcasing the concept, and the numbers are expected to remain the same in the production guise.
The X-Class carries the Mercedes-Benz’s SUV face with the massive logo in the centre grille. It remains to be seen how spacious the dual cab layout of the pick-up will be, while the parcel tray at the rear looks big enough to qualify as a proper pick-up. The vertically stacked tail lamps will be LED and there also seem to be chrome grab handle bars inside the parcel tray to add that touch of luxury to the pickup.
No powertrain details are available as yet, however, the X-Class is expected to be available with a two-wheel or an all-wheel drive layout. Engine options could be a turbo-diesel 3.0-litre V6 apart from a range of four-cylinder engines paired with manual and automatic transmissions. The performance oriented AMG-badged X-Class is highly unlikely, however, not completely ruled out.
Mercedes-Benz has plans to sell the X-Class pickup in the European, Asian and some markets of South America only. Unfortunately, deemed too small by the German carmaker, the truck won’t be sold in the North American markets. It will be built at Nissan’s facility in Spain and in Argentina by Renault as a part of Mercedes agreement with Nissan-Renault Alliance.
