Mercedes is widely known for its luxury sedans and sports cars. Since the company has been able top firmly establish itself in those niches, it’s starting to take a stab at the SUV industry. And one of the vehicles that can help Mercedes do just that is its latest release: the Mercedes GLK SUV.

The Mercedes GLK was first unveiled at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Built by Bremen of Germany, this SUV first hit the spotlight when it appeared at the Sex and the City movie, where it was driven by Kim Cattral or Samantha as she is popularly known for. Talk about making a big impact.

Since then, the Mercedes GLK has been re-imagined by a number of automotive tuning houses. These re-imaginations were first shown during this year’s SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) auto show. And based on the images posted above, it appears that they did a pretty good design job. I particularly like the red version since it looks like it’s capable of performing exceptionally well at any race track.

Now, despite all the hoopla it’s been generating, the big question regarding this vehicle now is: is it actually worth paying for? Well, if you take away the customization done to it (and the fact that it has appeared in a box-office movie), the Mercedes GLK is actually worth your while (and hard-earned money). Depending on the trim of the vehicle, the GLK will be equipped with the following engine types: a 2.2-liter for its GLK 220 CDI trim, a 3.0-litre V-6 engine for its GLK 280, a 3.5-litre V-6 engine for its GLK 350, and a 3.0-litre engine for its GLK 320 CDI trim.

Thanks to these engines, the Mercedes GLK SUV is capable of producing a minimum of 187 horsepower and a maximum of 268 horsepower. Not only that, the fastest time it takes for the vehicle to hit 60 mph is 6.8 seconds (for the GLK350). Not bad for a bulky SUV, right?

So if you’re in the market for a new SUV, be sure to try out one of Mercedes’ GLK SUV. Not only can it perform well, it can also be easily customized to look like one of the vehicles pictured above.

Sources: 0-60 Mag, Wikipedia: Mercedes GLK, Wikipedia: SEMA