2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe imagined

Mercedes-Benz is expected to launch the next-generation 2023 GLC Coupe in the coming months, with new designs showcasing the coupe SUV’s potential design.

Following last week’s unveiling of the regular, next-generation GLC medium SUV, rendering artist Theottle has imagined what the forthcoming sloped-back iteration could look like.

Taking inspiration from the all-new GLC by adopting its front-end styling, the GLC Coupe trades its traditional SUV body for a sleeker, more-aerodynamic shape – as seen on the current-generation model, which sits alongside the larger GLE Coupe.

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2023 GLC Coupe rendered by Theottle

The controversial body style was pioneered in 2007, with the first-generation BMW X6 generally considered to be the world’s first coupe SUV.

It has since guided a countless stream of models, including BMW’s own X2 and X4, along with vehicles from rival marques Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Porsche and Volvo.

Mainstream brands – such as Volkswagen, Honda, Renault and Citröen – have also joined in on the action, with the Renault Arkana coupe SUV available in Australia for under $40,000.

Other design elements in the renderings include; a ducktail spoiler, fake exhaust tips and a reshaped window frame against the wagon body.

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Merc's new GLC, revealed last week

As a whole, the Mercedes-Benz GLC is currently the brand’s highest-selling model globally, with the revised version seeing evolution over the outgoing generation.

Despite this, the second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLC acquires many elements from the recently-launched C-Class, such as the ditching of six- and eight-cylinder powertrains in favour of electrified four-cylinder engines.

This will extend to AMG models, with plug-in hybrid technology likely for the powerful 500kW-plus GLC 63.

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Built on the same MRA2 architecture as the C-Class and S-Class sedans, the GLC has grown across every dimension (except height) – with a 15-millimetre longer wheelbase for improved rear-seat legroom.

Inside, it adopts Mercedes-Benz’s latest technology, with a configurable 12.3-inch full-digital instrument cluster and an 11.9-inch portrait-orientated MBUX infotainment system.

VFACTS sales figures reveal 771 units of the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe were sold in 2021, against 3435 examples of the regular GLC wagon and 981 sales for its arch-rival, the BMW X4, over the same period.

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It is currently priced from $100,300 before on-roads for the entry-level GLC 300, with price increases between $10,000 and $15,000 likely across the next-generation range.

Although there has been little chatter from the brand so far about the next-generation 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe, it is expected to debut early next year.

In the meantime, the latest 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC wagon is scheduled to arrive in local showrooms in the first half of next year.