Mercedes has had its performance division, AMG, shoehorn a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 into its behemoth SUV, the GL. The result is the GL 63 AMG.  It’s quick, it’s stupid, and it’s coming to a leafy suburb near you in 2013. The usual stuff applies here: take one GL; add fast engine; make interior a little more fancy; attach body kit; apply AMG badges liberally; increase number of exhaust pipes; connect larger wheels; paint white.

Its output is 550bhp, and it gets to all four wheels through a 7G-Tronic automatic transmission.Clearly this is no track car, so it gets adaptable air suspension to make sure it’s comfortable most of the time, and the interior is decked out with more leather than Tom Jones’ trouser drawer, circa 1980.

No word on performance or price yet, but we’ll no doubt hear closer to launch.