Mercedes-Benz Concept Coupe SUV Debuts At The 2014 Beijing Auto Show

Chevrolet takes a lot of pride in being the progenitor of the SUV segment, starting with the Suburban back in the 1930s. Land Rover makes much of being the first luxury SUV maker via the Range Rover built starting in 1970. But the world of SUVs has come a long way since those pioneers, folding in design elements and high-performance abilities that those founding fathers could never have imagined at the time.

ALSO SEE: 2015 Dodge Challenger Comes In Eight Trim Levels, None Of Them Supercharged: Live Photos

At the 2014 Beijing Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz has stepped into one of the newest frontiers for the SUV: the coupe--or, at the least, the coupe-like profile. The Mercedes-Benz Concept Coupe SUV is a design-first thesis, presenting cues that recall some of Mercedes' other ground breaking designs, especially the first four-door coupe, the CLS-Class.

At the nose, the now-familiar modern face of Mercedes-Benz is cast in large, chunky figures, from the broad and tall single-bar grille to the angular but not angry all-LED headalights, to the broad air lower air intake and the unique "soft cube" grille design that fills the gaps. The sloped hood, short front overhang, arched roof and longer rear overhang and minimally detailed, wide-set rear recall the idea of a four-door shooting brake--until you look at the ride height.