Mercedes-Benz has revealed its off-road-ready EQC 4×4² concept which boasts portal axles and 293mm of ground clearance. We want one.
So, Mercedes-Benz should hurry up and build this thing. Meet the EQC 4×4² concept, a one-off created by a team of Merc engineers who wanted to take the EQC from mild to wild.
The EQC 4×4² is based on an EQC 400 4 MATIC that’s been poked and prodded to offer better off-road stats than a G-Class. Yep, with 293mm of ground clearance, thanks to portal axles, it’s got 58mm more clearance than a G-Class. It offers 400mm of water fording which is only marginally more than a Suzuki Jimny but it’ll do… Approach and departure angles are 31.8 degrees and 33 degrees respectively. By way of comparison, a conventional G-Class has an approach and departure angle of 28 degrees.
And if that’s not enough, the headlights double as speakers. Yep, true. And the Off-Road drive program has been tweaked to work the same as the system in the GLC models and uses targeted brake interventions to enable an improved torque curve when starting on loose ground, or so Mercedes-Benz said.
So, why’d Merc build it? “Our aim is to combine modern luxury and sustainability with emotional appeal. The EQC 4×4² shows how enjoyable sustainable mobility can be. This is where electromobility high-tech and an intriguing customer experience are transferred to the mountains, thanks to MBUX and over-the-air updates. To put it succinctly, electric, progressive luxury goes off-road,” says Markus Schäfer, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO.
“This drivable study clearly shows that alongside a passion for e-mobility, we at Mercedes-Benz lay a strong claim to leadership in this sector and will heighten the emotional appeal of this even further in the future.”
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