Next-gen C-class shapes up for 3 Series duel
PROTOTYPES OF THE fifth-generation Mercedesbenz C-class featuring new production-based bodywork have been pressed into action for the first time, ahead of a planned 2020 launch.
Spied close to the German car maker’s headquarters near Stuttgart, the upmarket four-door has undergone an evolutionary redevelopment to make it competitive against next year’s BMW 3 Series.
Key to the changes is a reworked platform, new hybrid drivetrains, a revised chassis and a much more advanced 48V electric architecture. Insiders suggest it will offer new autonomous driving functions, including hands-off driving at speeds of up to 81mph.
Mercedes hasn’t departed greatly from the design lineage of the popular fourthgeneration C-class, but closer inspection of the prototypes reveals some detailed changes including a lower front end and a more heavily angled rear window that serves to shorten the length of the bootlid. The new C-class has also undergone extensive aerodynamic development. Officials suggest it has a Cd of just 0.25, representing best in class for aerodynamic efficiency.
These early prototypes of the new C-class, codenamed W206, also reveal it will be close in size to its predecessor but adopt a slightly longer wheelbase. The model is based on a modified version of the current C-class’s MRA platform, with new aluminium structural elements to boost rigidity, though sources say it won’t be much lighter.
Inside, the new C-class is set to adopt an interior similar to that used by the new EQ C, with a dual-screen infotainment and instrument panel and conversational gesture control.
The next C-class will launch with electrified drivetrains across the range.
All petrol and diesel engines, including four-, six- and eightcylinder powerplants that will continue in AMG performance models, are set to be combined with a 48V electric system and integrated starter motor. The system recuperates energy under acceleration, allows off-throttle coasting and could also offer a boost function for extra power in short bursts.
Additionally, it will receive a number of plug-in hybrid drivelines in both petrolelectric and diesel-electric guises, all planned to offer an electric range of up to 50 miles in combination with a largercapacity lithium ion battery than the 13.5kwh unit in use in today’s C300e.