By Drew Johnson
Thursday, Jan 3rd, 2008 @ 10:30 am

Just yesterday an image of Mercedes-Benz ’s GLK Freeside concept was leaked, but now the German automaker has officially unveiled the SUV ahead of its Detroit Auto Show debut later this month. The GLK Freeside is essentially a pre-production version of the upcoming GLK SUV.
While not the same model that will soon roll off Mercedes assembly lines, the Freeside concept should give a good indication of what the final product will look like. Just last month, spy photographer caught the GLK on the set of the Sex and the City movie.

The newest Mercedes SUV takes many of its styling cues from the larger Mercedes-Benz GL SUV. However, despite the GLK’s direct lineage to the big GL, it only measures about 3 inches longer than a Ford Escape .

Power for the GLK concept is sourced from Mercedes-Benz’s turbo-diesel 2.2L four-cylinder engine — rated at 168 horsepower. Shifts are provided by Mercedes’ seven-speed automatic transmission. The GLK’s 4MATIC all-wheel drive system has been reworked to reduce friction to levels to that of a two-wheel drive vehicle.

The new GLK will launch in Europe during the second half of 2008 with U.S. sales starting in a year.

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