---
title: "Mercedes-AMG Boss Shoots Down Possibility of X-Class AMG Pickup"
description: "Odds of an X-class AMG have gone from ‘probably not’ to ‘definitely not.’"
date: "2018-09-25"
modified: "2018-09-25"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/23820/mercedes-amg-boss-shoots-down-possibility-of-x-class-amg-pickup"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "automotive news"
  - "Mercedes-AMG"
  - "Mercedes-AMG"
  - "Mercedes-Benz X-Class"
  - "News"
  - "pickup trucks"
---

# Mercedes-AMG Boss Shoots Down Possibility of X-Class AMG Pickup

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/05/mercedes-benz-x-class-rips-through-different-terrain-in-the-latest-the-crew-2-trailer-in-flight.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com\</em\>*

Mercedes-Benz has been skeptical of the chances of an [X-class AMG](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/12875/a-raptor-fighting-mercedes-amg-x-class-probably-isnt-happening>) pickup since the truck's debut in South Africa in July of 2017, and AMG boss Tobias Moers has come forward to state that an X-class AMG will not happen.

"There will be no X-Class AMG," Moers told [*Car Sales*](<https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/no-mercedes-benz-x-class-amg-for-now-114815/>). "Never."

Mercedes bases its X-class pickup on a platform designed by Nissan for its global market Navara pickup, which succeeded the Frontier pickup in seemingly every market but the United States, where the Frontier is still sold in a form almost identical to that in which it debuted in 2004. Nissan's close partner Renault also sells a Navara-based pickup called the Alaskan in some Latin American markets.

Moers cites cultural differences between the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance and AMG as a major roadblock for an X-class AMG pickup.

"AMG culture would be a difficult fit with Nissan and Renault cultures," he said. Previously, however, Moers said AMG is simply preoccupied with more important projects with greater demand.

"We're too busy," Moers told *Car Sales* at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. "We're fully locked in to our programs."

Another possibility is that the Navara platform is a poor candidate for an AMG vehicle. It is meant as a medium-duty vehicle, with the X-class using a 2.3-liter turbo-four gasoline engine or a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 depending on variant. Power plants like AMG's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 may be capable of twisting the X-class's chassis like taffy, or its dimensions may simply be too large to fit in the engine bay. The same may be true of smaller engines, like the 3.0-liter twincharged inline-six in the Mercedes-AMG E 53, or the 2.0-liter four-pot in the [Mercedes-AMG A 35](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/23681/2019-mercedes-amg-a35-an-amg-for-the-pikachu-generation>).

No matter the reason, the X-class AMG will remain a fantasy. We'll have to dry our tears on the seats of the [Ford Ranger Raptor](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/23056/watch-the-ford-ranger-raptor-have-a-quarry-party-in-new-video>), which will make a solid substitute.

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)