Mercedes-Benz’s 2017 Plans Include Two New AMG Sports Cars

And a pickup truck.
www.thedrive.com

Daimler has been on a roll lately, cranking out models, carving out niches, and creating entire brands with verve. And based on Mercedes-Benz’s 2017 new car plans, which were included in Daimler’s mid-year investor report released late last week, it seems the next calendar year will also be filled with a bevy of new Benzes.

Early next year, Mercedes-Benz will launch the coupe version of the new E-Class, roughly around the same time the Mercedes-AMG GT R that debuted at Goodwood reaches the showroom floor. The Outback-ified Mercedes-Benz E-Class All Terrain wagon will show up shortly thereafter, complete with a mild lift, all-wheel-drive, and what we hope will be a tasteful amount of body cladding. That will be followed by a facelift for Mercedes’s other super-soft-roader, the GLA-Class, which will likely bring it closer into line with the recently-tweaked CLA-Class.

That’s when things kick into high gear. Around that time, AMG will then release something called the “GT C Roadster.” At first glance, you might think that “C” simply refers to the long-expected topless version of the GT S…but under the carmaker’s current nomenclature, “C” is Mercedes-Benz’s term for “compact,” not “convertible.” (See: GLC-Class, SLC-Class.) Plus, a few months down the calendar from that, the roadmap mentions something called an AMG GT C Coupe. All of which leads us to believe that Mercedes-Benz will be rolling out a smaller sports car come 2017. Which would, obviously, improve our outlook for 2017.

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Mercedes-Benz included this 2017 product teaser in its mid-year investor update, presumably knowing it would whip the Internet into a frenzy.

In the months between the arrival of the two new GT C models, Mercedes will unveiled a mid-cycle refresh for the S-Class, presumably packing more technological gimmickry than a dozen Sharper Image stores. After that come three more vehicles: the aforementioned GT C Coupe, the E-Class Cabriolet, and the rumored Mercedes-Benz Pickup—which Daimler left unnamed, instead choosing to tease us with a teeny, tiny picture of it.

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This is all we know about the looks of Mercedes-Benz's new pickup truck. So, we know it will have a bed. And a grille.

Oh, Daimler will also unveil two- and four-door electric smart cars in the first half of 2017. But, c’mon, you don’t really care.

Will is the former managing editor of RIDES Magazine and the former online editor for 0-60 Magazine. He has worked for Time Out New York and Rolling Stone, and was the creator of College Cars Online, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.