Mercedes went head-to-head with BMW at September’s Munich Auto Show, with both companies revealing compact electric SUVs, and the Bavarian iX3 definitely looked more dynamic in our view, despite the best efforts of the GLC’s huge new grille.

But AMG is working on its own GLC version that could deliver the stage presence the stock model lacked.

Related: Mercedes Is Preparing A 40-Car Blitz To Reshape Its Future

Our spy photo team caught a Mercedes-AMG GLC EQ prototype testing in Germany, managing to fire off shots of both the exterior and interior and, thus, highlighting some important details.

One is the wider track versus the non-AMG version, the fat forged alloy wheels being pushed to the outer edges of the bodywork to improve both the handling and the visual swagger.

What Visual Changes Will AMG Bring?

Helping push those wheels into the pavement is another AMG-specific detail, a pop-up rear spoiler mounted at the top of the rear hatch. It’s also likely that the spoiler will be paired with a rear diffuser in the production version, even if we can’t see one on this prototype.

SH Proshots

Also not fully visible on this test car is the AMG grille. We know it’ll be massive, probably carrying over the same basic outline as the new full-height grille that got its first outing on the regular GLC EQ in September, and has since been seen again on the gorgeous Vision Iconic GT concept that broke cover a few weeks after.

However, we’re still waiting to see what AMG has in mind for the grille’s center section and whether it will integrate its now-traditional vertical vanes.

Sporty Cabin, Supercar-Rivaling Power

Less mystery shrouds the interior after spy photographers snuck up close to a parked GLC and fired off some shots revealing the presence of a set of heavily bolstered black and red bucket seats. Expect the door panels and center armrest to be trimmed to match by the time production starts, probably midway through 2026.

Of course, no AMG model would be complete without a gigantic injection of horsepower. Mercedes has so far only revealed one powertrain for the GLC, a 483 hp (490 PS / 360 kW) dual-motor setup for the GLC 400 4Matic that draws juice from a 94 kWh battery to deliver up to 443 miles (713 km) of WLTP range.

Not bad, but the AMG version will leave it for dust if (as rumored) it rocks up with three Yasa axial flux motors and as much as 938 hp (952 PS / 700 kW).

SH Proshots

For years, many legacy carmakers believed the best way to sell electric vehicles was to make them stand apart from their combustion-powered counterparts. Even today, several brands still cling to that idea. But those days are drawing to a close at Mercedes-Benz, where the next generation of electric and ICE models will share a near-identical look.

The German company explains that early EV buyers wanted their cars to look distinct, which led to designs like the EQS, EQC, and EQE appearing radically different from their combustion equivalents such as the GLC and E-Class.

Lessons From the Jellybean Era

Design chief Gorden Wagener defended the “jellybean” or “egg-shaped” aesthetic earlier this year as “purposeful and very progressive,” though he later conceded that the car “was launched ten years too early” and that the marketing approach hadn’t helped.

Now that early adopters have already made the switch to electric, Mercedes thinks it can turn its attention to mainstream buyers who prefer their EVs to blend in rather than stand out.

Read: Star-Stricken Mercedes GLC EV Has A Grille Big Enough To Swallow A BMW iX3

“Early adopters wanted to be different,” chief technology officer Markus Schäfer told WhichCar? in Australia. “They wanted to show that they were driving an electric car, and now we’re entering the mainstream and mass adoption, and customers don’t want to show that they’re driving an EV. They want the same shape, no matter the drivetrain.”

Same Looks, Different Platforms

This new approach is most evident in the all-electric GLC. Unveiled in full last month, it serves as a replacement to the slow-selling EQC and looks very similar to the ICE variant. Similarly, the new CLA looks the same, regardless of whether it has a battery pack and an electric motor or a combustion engine.

Although its future EVs will continue this trend and share familiar styling with combustion models, Mercedes-Benz continues to insist on using dedicated EV and ICE platforms, rather than developing a single platform that can be used by all of its models, regardless of powertrain.

“In future, the top hat will be the same. The MB.UX intelligence will be the same, but the platform is different,” Schäfer said. Why are we doing this? Eventually you’re compromising when you try to squeeze different drivetrain types into one platform”.

He went on to explain that accommodating everything from six- and eight-cylinder engines to hybrids can eat into battery space, reducing range.

“Fitting both drivetrains to the same platform ultimately ends up with compromise, and we don’t want to offer compromised cars,” he added

More: Mercedes Previews C-Class EV With A Face That’s Bound To Start Fights

The upcoming C-Class will follow the same approach, built on the MB.EA platform with 800-volt technology and a 94-kWh battery pack for the electric version. Teased earlier this year, it’s expected to launch in 2026 as Mercedes’ answer to BMW’s new i3.