LA MOTOR SHOW: The truth behind Ener-G-Force

Mercedes-Benz calls it a concept that hints at the way the German brand’s future SUVs could look, but that’s only telling half the Ener-G-Force’s story.

Sources have revealed the radical G-Class reinterpretation is at the centre of a raging debate inside Daimler about whether it can sustain two separate SUV model lines.

Plans have been drawn up for the current SUV line-up and a sportier new, more hard-core SUV family to run parallel to each other, with the Ener-G-Force’s combination of curves, creases and G-Wagen hints forming the new range’s basis.

But sources insist it’s not yet finalised as a production plan because Daimler has yet to figure out if there would be enough takers to justify the plan.

This isn’t new territory for Mercedes-Benz, which started the trend for two separate model families off the same architecture when it launched the CLS off the E-Class’s mechanical skeleton in 2004.

It now has the second-generation CLS, is about to launch a CLA and also has plans to introduce another CL-family member to take its tally to three sportier, younger models off the mechanical basis of current, more-conservative Mercedes-Benz cars.

Similarly, while the iconic G-Class stands well apart from the M-Class and GL-Class, Mercedes will expand its SUV range with the new A-Class-based GLA compact crossover to bookend the mid-size GLK, the next-generation of which will finally give Benz a complete range of SUVs in Australia.

While Benz design boss Gorden Wagener insists the Ener-G-Force is a pure concept designed to win a Californian design competition, the car itself is a “1:1 design study” built directly on top of a G-Class chassis, suspension, engine and powertrain.

“It’s based off the G-Wagen,” Mr Wagener said. “But we don’t do retro cars. We re-interpreted the essence of it, much like we did with the SLS and the original Gullwing.

“We checked the G-Wagen for its most important pieces of architecture, so it should have a boxy greenhouse and an external wheel, with a stand-out grille.”

“It’s not a box, like the G-Wagen. It has beautiful shapes and crisp surfaces and it gives a good hint about where Mercedes-Benz’s SUVs can go in the future.”

While that’s the official line, Mercedes-Benz design officials are even more effusive about its potential, which is especially poignant as some admit to being disappointed at how the design of the latest M-Class has been received.

“This design could realistically and very efficiently become the CLS of our SUV world. It could set us free to make the conservative city SUVs some of our buyers demand and a more aggressive look at the same time,” one senior source insisted.

“It could be the study that creates a sportier, more uncompromising look for another SUV family on the same architecture.

“We could very easily do this… an ML version of this design. This one is GL-based, but this design was always thought of to fit a range of different sizes. We could do one even smaller than an ML,” he said.

The main obstacle, one source admitted, was getting a positive response from research into the brand’s ability to carry parallel SUVs without cannibalising the sales of the existing models.

“We have to investigate whether there is enough of a market to support two separate SUV lines from Mercedes-Benz. One would be more civilian, one more functional and sporty.”

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…