HOPING FOR AN AMG

It doesn’t officially exist but an AMGequipped X-Class is a no-brainer, at least in Australia. And that’s the problem: we’re the only global market likely to want a pick-up with AMG levels of performance.

Mercedes-Benz Vans CEO Diana Tarr says she’d welcome such a vehicle — were one ever made.

“There are no plans. The V6 will tell us if there is an appetite for this type of car but even then we’d have to have a business case ... we are a major AMG market (but) it wouldn’t be built for Australia alone,” she says. “If it did happen, I don’t think it would be a 63 – perhaps a 43 instead.”

The stablemate GLC43 SUV uses a twinturbo V6 to crank out 387kW/520Nm.

AMG chief Tobias Moers has ruled out building a high-performance X-Class, largely because of the low volumes and the pick-up’s shared platform with Nissan, which would complicate the development process.