**Mercedes-Benz Tests Upcoming Electric GLC in the Mojave Desert’s Dumont Dunes**
About 100 miles from Las Vegas, at the edge of the Mojave Desert, the Dumont Dunes rise out of the landscape—hundreds of feet high, these ancient sand formations offer a challenging and unique environment for off-road testing. The dunes, created over thousands of years from windswept sand left behind by dried-up lake beds, are now managed by the Bureau of Land Management as a recreational area, popular with off-road enthusiasts looking for adventure.
Recently, this dramatic landscape became the proving ground for Mercedes-Benz as its engineers put the finishing touches on the next-generation, all-electric GLC SUV. With production scheduled to begin next year, Mercedes brought several preproduction prototypes—still in camouflage wraps—to the dunes as part of their final testing phase. The hardware of the new GLC is essentially set, but engineers are still refining the vehicle’s software, tweaking code, and calibrating systems to ensure the electric SUV can handle even the most demanding surfaces.
**Beyond the Pothole: Engineering for the Extreme**
While most GLC owners will likely never venture further off-road than the occasional rough city street or pothole, Mercedes is designing the electric GLC to handle much more. One of the key features is its optional air suspension system, which can raise the vehicle’s ground clearance up to 8.1 inches (206 mm) at low speeds and maintain a substantial 7.2 inches (183 mm) even at highway speeds when the SUV is set to its most aggressive off-road mode. This adjustment allows for impressive approach and departure angles—21.4 degrees at the front and 22.6 degrees at the rear—enabling the GLC to tackle steep inclines and declines without scraping its bumpers.
Unlike traditional four-wheel-drive vehicles, which rely on a mechanical connection between the front and rear axles, the electric GLC’s axles are linked only by the car’s electronic network. This absence of a center differential is actually advantageous in this context. An array of sensors constantly monitor grip at each wheel, and the vehicle’s dual electric motors—one at the front and one at the rear—can instantly adjust torque distribution far quicker than a combustion-engine counterpart. While the GLC can disengage its front motor for better efficiency during regular driving, both motors are always active in off-road modes, ensuring maximum traction.
**Mastering the Dunes: Advanced Control Systems**
The primary focus of the engineers during this desert test was fine-tuning the GLC’s brake control systems. Navigating soft sand is a complex challenge: as the driver presses the brake, the car’s electronic brain must coordinate traction control, electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, and a downhill speed governor. All these systems work together to stabilize the vehicle, prevent it from sliding uncontrollably, and keep it moving in the desired direction, especially when descending steep dunes.
The writer