Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche yanked the covers off the brand's new Concept Coupé SUV on the occasion of the Annual Shareholder's Meeting of Daimler AG in Berlin today. Based on the ML's underpinnings, it's Mercedes answer to the BMW X6.

"This study will be officially unveiled in just under two weeks from now at Auto China in Beijing," said Zetsche in his address. "But we wanted to show you this vehicle today. We see major potential for Mercedes-Benz in particular in this combination of a coupe and an SUV."

While technical details remain thin at this time, the Concept Coupé SUV is lightly disguised version of the upcoming production model believed to carry the MLC designation.

The styling of the Concept Coupé SUV draws inspiration from Benz's four-door coupes like the CLA and CLS, applying these design elements on a crossover form.

By John Halas

Mercedes’ Concept Coupé SUV unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show is billed as an “extremely sporty study” by the automaker, with the press release insisting on its coupé character. However, it is quite hard to think that a 4,935mm (194in) long, 2,044mm (80.5in) wide SUV is an extremely sporty vehicle.

Still, Mercedes-Benz says that the study’s dynamic handling on the road is of a superior level thanks to the variable dynamic control system “Dynamic Select Control”, which provides four fundamentally different transmission modes and an individually programmable setup.

Riding on 22-inch wheels nestled underneath large wheel arches, the Concept Coupé SUV features muscular wings, broad shoulders, a high beltline and generous ground clearance. More discreet details like the recessed door handles and the frameless side windows serve to accentuate the study’s coupé-like character.

Like all recent Mercedes-Benz study vehicles, Concept Coupé SUV features an “Alu Beam” paint finish, a tribute to the Silver Arrows race cars of the 1930s and 1950s. The study also features illuminated side sills, which are reminiscent of the running boards found on classic SUVs or off-roaders.

The Concept Coupé SUV is powered by a 3.0-liter V6 biturbo gasoline engine producing 329 hp (333PS) and 480 Nm (354 lb-ft) of torque, mated to a 9G-TRONIC PLUS nine-speed automatic transmission. The concept car features 4Matic permanent all-wheel drive system.

No production details were offered, but Mercedes-Benz says the Concept Coupé SUV “demonstrates how a four-door, all-wheel drive series production coupé might look.”

What we know is that the study previews an upcoming production SUV from Mercedes-Benz based on the ML-Class’s underpinnings that will compete with the second-generation BMW X6.

Now that was blazingly fast; just three days after Mercedes-Benz hosted the world premiere of their Concept Coupé SUV at the ongoing Beijing Auto Show in China, and our spies captured the first ever prototype of the car that is believed to carry the MLC designation testing in production form on the road!

Naturally, your first question will be how close or far away is the production SUV from the Beijing show concept, to which our initial response (based on what we can decipher from the camouflaged tester) is, quite close.

The shape remains the same with visible differences including the taller glasshouse, the protruding instead of shaved door handles, a bigger set of door mirrors, less aggressively styled bumpers and possibly, loftier tail lamps. Do note that Mercedes' engineers placed a faux boot cover at the rear end of the SUV.

As it shares its underpinnings with the next M-Class, Benz's rival to the BMW X6 crossover will be offered with a familiar gasoline and diesel engine range topped out by a turbocharged V8 edition with the AMG moniker.

Production and global sales of the MLC should start in the second half of 2015.