In June this year, Mercedes-Benz confirmed through the voice of the man in charge of the X-Class’ development, Frank Schumacher, that it is considering a more powerful version of the pickup. Now, it turns out the company has no plans to put a V8 under the bonnet of the Nissan Navara-based vehicle and this was revealed by Mercedes-AMG president Tobias Moers.

“There will be no X-Class AMG,” Moers told the media during the launch of the GT 4-Door Coupe in Texas. “Never.”

No means no and, apparently, we will have to be satisfied with the V6 diesel as a range-topper. While that’s not a bad thing for a relatively compact pickup, a V8 twin-turbo under the bonnet could have made it one of the quickest and most capable trucks in the world.

The tuners love the X-Class:

An AMG-tuned X-Class, however, is not something that is appropriate, at least according to Moers. He believes the hardcore roots of AMG don’t match the Japanese-French origins of the pickup.

“AMG culture would be a difficult fit with Nissan and Renault cultures.”

What this all means is, basically, the X350d 4Matic will remain the most powerful version of the brand’s first-ever pickup. It has a 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine, generating 255 bhp and 406 pound-feet of torque. These are decent figures for the European and Australian pickup segments, but the U.S. customers are addicted to V8s for their trucks and this is the reason the X-Class won’t be available on that side of the pond.

If the stock power is not enough for you, you can always call the folks over at Brabus. Their tuning program for the 2.3-liter engine adds 21 bhp and 42 lb-ft to the factory numbers. An upgrade for the V6 version should also be in the works.

Source: CarSales.com.au

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz X-Class