C-Class Breaking news: Mercedes plans C-class coupe

[klier]

Great news! Hopefully finally a proper 3er coupé rival!

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Great news! Hopefully finally a proper 3er coupé rival!

Hmmm I wonder. I think they're gonna try to position this thing slightly differently. MB and BMW haven't been keen on the idea of direct rival products as of late.

 

[Mr Robert]

Hmmm I wonder. I think they're gonna try to position this thing slightly differently. MB and BMW haven't been keen on the idea of direct rival products as of late.

Might be so, the E-class Coupe is today the E92 rival, but a bit more expensive. That means that Mercedes probably must place the C-class coupe slightly below the E92.

That would be nice.

 

[EnI]

So, which platform will be used? C again? So, there will be 2 coupes on same platform - with same wheelbase, and slightly different overhangs. E- coupe looking like E derivate, and C-coupe like the one from C.

What's the point?

Except ... the C-coupe is an upscale 1er coupe rival. Since it again looks like 3er coupe & cabrio will be pushed a bit upmarket again - making a bit more space for 1er coupe, and so for MINI Coupe as well.

Btw, MB officials said there would be 4 variants of new A-class. 3dr hatch, 5dr hatch, probably a mini-SUV and ??????. A cabrio or even better - a roadster? That would make sense - giving C-class coupe (and cabrio) more space.

 

[Wolfgang]

What's the point?

Greg Kable explained it in a followup:

"I might have misled you when I said the C-class coupe would succeed the CLK coupe.

The CLK coupe will, in fact, be succeed by two cars: the 2011 C-class coupe and the 2009 E-class coupe.

The former is a rather conservative looking car by coupe standards. Think of it as a two door C-class. Nothing more, nothing less. Same styling as the saloon but two fewer doors. It won't carry too much of a premium over its four door siblings price wise say my sources.

The later is, in my opinion at least, one of the most contemporary road going cars Mercedes-Benz has produced. The E-class coupe also costs a good deal more than the CLK did when you compare them engine for engine.


What Merc's doing is giving the customers the choice between conservative and contemporary.

The Brazilian built CLC, by the way, is planned to cease production in 2012. It's set to be replaced by a front wheel drive coupe model using the same underpinnings as the next generation A- and B-class."
### end of quote

 

[Wolfgang]

Background in this pic reminds me of Mies' Barcelona pavillion.

from:

http://www.mercedes-benz.it/

 

[Monster]

Greg Kable explained it in a followup:
The E-class coupe also costs a good deal more than the CLK did when you compare them engine for engine.

That isn't the case in Australia, the E coupe cost pretty much the same as the CLK, engine for engine. The E 500 coupe cost about $20k AUD more than the CLK 500 coupe but MB offset it with more equipment.

 

[keith100]

So, which platform will be used? C again? So, there will be 2 coupes on same platform - with same wheelbase, and slightly different overhangs. E- coupe looking like E derivate, and C-coupe like the one from C.

What's the point?

I agree, Cynical marketing that you can re-label a car and sell it at two price points. One version, presumably, to... er ....an idiot??)

 

[Mr Robert]

It has a point. If it is largely the same car as the E-class coupe, with C-class cues and a good price cut...

 

[Sunny]

So, which platform will be used? C again? So, there will be 2 coupes on same platform - with same wheelbase, and slightly different overhangs. E- coupe looking like E derivate, and C-coupe like the one from C.

What's the point?

Is platform sharing really that new? If 7er and RR can, why not C coupe and E coupe? There is more to a car than just the platform.

 

[Mr Robert]

Is platform sharing really that new? If 7er and RR can, why not C coupe and E coupe? There is more to a car than just the platform.

The key is to make the differences as apparent as possible, otherwise, the "expensive" version will suffer from an image loss and the "cheap" version will be regarded as a bargain.

That said, platform charing, as a concept, is rather unsexy.

 

[EnI]

http://download.autobild.de/dl/616346/AuBi10_03_003-003_Inhalt.pdf

 

[Shining Star]

 

[Sunny]

Hofmeister kink on a Merc? doubt that.

 

[Sayyaaf]

Maybe they just realized there is no better way of killing that huge rear window ?

 

[Merc1]

I can't wait to see this car! I can picture (or hope) for a C350 Coupe Sport with about 325hp and a revised interior. Make it happen MB.

M

 

[Shining Star]

I'm a bit surprised that we haven't seen test mules for a C-Coupe...Geneva 2011 or New York 2011 maybe? Of course, there won't be a hoffmeister kink.

 

[Merc1]

Yeah me too, cause for it to happen this fall as a 2011 car it needs to be on the road now!


M

 

[Wunderkind]

I can't wait to see this car! I can picture (or hope) for a C350 Coupe Sport with about 325hp and a revised interior. Make it happen MB.

M

I share your sentiment Merc1 as the C-Coupe needs to differentiate itself from its sedan siblings. Also it will need the differentiation as it will probably live beyond the replacement date of the sedan.

But I doubt Mercedes would revise the interior as it would cost money and the original objective was to share as many component as the sedan as possible. But replacing the top half of the dashboard would be good. I'm not fond of the big slab of moulded plastic dashboard on the C-Sedan.

Mercedes better put the SL350 engine into the C-Coupe. Why else would anyone buy it?

Regarding the Hoffmeister kink, the rendering is done by Huckfeldt and he is almost always right on the mark. He has probably seen the real thing already

The Hoffmeister kink might be an attempt by Mercedes to lure BMW owners to the C-Coupe.


Oh, one more thing. If I was Dr Z and the executive responsible for the C-Class. I'd do a new dashboard as the door panels will have to be bespoke for the longer doors (compared to the sedan). Mercedes has a chance to make coupe more unique and upmarket than the sedan. Some detailing from the current CLS would be good.