Looks like the folks from Affalterbach won’t take the whole ‘Power SUV’ segment sitting without anything to pitch from their lineup. Our spies have spotted a huge slab of Mercedes in the form of the AMG GLE 63 out testing around the ring. This means Mercedes’ new performance SUV will stack up against the likes of the BMW X5 M.

The AMG GLE 63 was sighted still wearing full camouflage – all the way down to concealing the new panamericana grill. Although a clear indication that this mule is the GLE 63 are its wheels as well as the brakes peeking underneath them. At the moment a quad pipe exhaust is still missing from its body but will likely be added later on; This is an early development prototype after all.

Powering this behemoth will likely be the same 4.0L twin turbo V8 motor found in the E63, and just like the E63 the GLE 63 will likely also come in two versions: The GLE 63 with 517PS and the GLE 63 S with 612PS.

Specific release dates have yet to be unveiled, but at least now we know there’s a powerful SUV in Mercedes AMG’s stable of performance vehicles.