Along with Mercedes’->ke187 new naming strategy has come the introduction of one new product in the AMG Sport lineup and a renamed Mercedes-AMG->ke8 sub-brand. Today, a new report out of Australia claims to have confirmation that the just-released 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class will get both AMG Sport and full-on AMG models.

Like the C-Class,->ke1593 the GLC-Class’ AMG Sport model will carry the “450” designation, making it the GLC 450 AMG Sport. The confirmation of this name comes directly from a person who may know a thing or two, Matthias Lührs, vice president of sales functions for Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Lührs continued by saying that the GLC 450 AMG Sport will likely use the same engine as the 2016 Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG Sport. This means it’ll come with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine that puts out 367 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque.

On top of the extra power, the GLC 450 AMG Sport will also feature 4MATIC all-wheel drive and some chassis updates to enhance its handling.

As for the full-on 2016 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63, Lührs was a little less forthcoming. He did mention that it’ll use AMG’s newest engine, the 4.0-liter biturbo V-8, but he failed to release its output. Chances are that it’ll produce output close to the 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63, which puts out 476 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. He made no mention of a more powerful S model.

What’s more, the GLC 63 will be the first example of this 4.0-liter engine mated to an all-wheel-drive system. It should be interesting to see just how well it performs with this extra traction.

Look for both the GLC 450 AMG Sport and the GLC 63 to arrive in 2016, according to Lührs.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

While the GLK->ke2078 was a decent product for Mercedes, it never received a high-performance version. Sure, there were packages that added in AMG styling bits, but no true AMG or AMG Sport model. Apparently, Mercedes feels confident enough in the new GLC to let AMG loose on it. I am not a huge SUV->ke145 fan, per se, but this actually has me pretty damned excited. Stay tuned for more details.

2016 Mercedes GLC

Read our full review here.