Next Mercedes-Benz GLK spotted ahead of 2015 launch

• Mercedes-Benz’s second-generation GLK SUV will be launched in the UK in the middle of next year and will come in a right-hand-drive configuration for the first time, highly placed company sources have confirmed. 
• The GLK is set to make its world debut at the Detroit motor show next January, although thanks to a new raft of changes to Mercedes' SUV model names the new car will be badged GLC. It has been developed in a joint engineering programme with the fourth-generation C-class and shares crucial elements of that car’s platform, drivelines and technical features.

• First used on the latest C-class, the new GLK’s modular platform provides scope for the production of both left and right-hand-drive variants thanks to a newly engineered driveshaft arrangement for the front wheels that preserves right-hand footwell space.
• “With the adoption of the new platform we will be able to offer both formats,” a senior Mercedes official revealed. “The second-generation model will be a central pillar in our plans to increase worldwide sales, particularly in right-hand-drive markets that have so far been denied to the GLK.”
• Stylistically, the latest GLK is a radical departure from its predecessor. Gone are the square-edged military vehicle-inspired lines. They have been replaced by a much more expressive exterior design that has strong links to the latest C-class, with more heavily raked screen angles.
• The SUV retains a five-door body, although there are plans to spin a more sporting model off the same running gear to create a rival to the newly introduced BMW X4. This new model is described as a smaller cousin to the upcoming M-class coupé, as previewed by the Concept Coupé SUV at the Beijing motor show in April. The plan is for it to join the Mercedes line-up in 2017.

• The sleeker styling also extends to the five-seat cabin. There is a swoopy dashboard similar to that gracing the latest C-class, complete with a free-standing multimedia monitor. The steering wheel, instruments, switchgear, trim and seats are all to the latest Mercedes design. 
• With a longer wheelbase and wider tracks, the second-generation SUV is claimed to offer greater interior accommodation than its predecessor, although there are no plans for a third row of seats. Boot capacity is also said to have risen above the 450 litres of the current left-hand-drive-only model. 
• The GLK will be manufactured in Mercedes factories in Germany, the United States and China, and will be sold with a range of longitudinally mounted in-line four-cylinder and V6 petrol and diesel engines, all brought over from the new C-class range. 
• Although conceived to excel on the road, Mercedes plans to provide the GLK with similar off-road attributes to those of the current model. Approach and departure angles with the standard body are said to be similar, at 23deg and 25deg respectively. Also comparable will be the ramp angle and fording depth of 19deg and 300mm respectively.
• Alongside traditional petrol and diesel engines, Mercedes is also engineering a plug-in hybrid version of the GLK for 2016. It will use the same driveline set to appear in the C-class plug-in hybrid - which will be unveiled at the Paris motor show in early October.
• Around the same time as the plug-in petrol-electric hybrid arrives, Mercedes plans to introduce a range-topping AMG version. It is set to run the same twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 direct petrol engine as the recently-revealed Mercedes-AMG GT sports car and the upcoming C63 AMG successor.