Listen to the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53's New Inline-6 Hybrid Engine

Powerful hybrid 4×4 are the new thing, mostly out of necessity. The European Union is imposing ever-stricter emissions regulations, and electrification is the only way to meet those targets. But Mercedes is prepared for this, as it has already developed a new inline-6 twin-turbo with EQ Boost, like the one in the new GLE 450, but more powerful and worthy of the AMG badge.

The system made its debut in the CLS 53 and was added to the E-Class range soon after. This configuration has trademark design elements, such as the quad round tips with a kind of rifling effect inside and the single-bar AMG grille as opposed to the Panamericana design that will be on the V8-powered GLE 63.

Interestingly, the GLE 53 is going to be the only model of its kind because it's not a plug-in. You have the new BMW X5 xDrive45e and the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, but both of those can run on electricity alone, whereas the EQ Boost system only makes 22 hp (16 kW) and 184 lb-ft (250 Nm), so it can't run the SUV alone. Meanwhile, Audi seems to be focusing on TDI with electric supercharging to meet the same emissions targets.

After sampling this Nurburgring spy video from Automotive Mike, we feel like the GLE 53 looks and sounds sufficiently appealing. The bodywork is much like that of the normal GLE, so it's a little tall, but the configuration still makes sense for a lot of customers.

Total system output should be 435 HP and 520 Nm, going to the familiar 9-speed auto and AWD, enough to push around 2.3 tons of SUV (heavier than old GLE 43) to 100 km/h in 5 seconds.