E-Class (W212/C207/A207) Official: E-Class Convertible (A207)

[Der Hofmeister]

Still no proper picture with the roof up?

The official press kit, with a detailed text and the proper high-res photos, will be released as early as next week. Probably, on Monday.

 

[Merc1]

This new one isn't bad IMO, but the best ones are the C124 and the C208 (mine!). Timeless beauty IMO.

The new one looks more like the C209 than anything, same humpy shape.

M

 

[Centurion]

The new one looks more like the C209 than anything, same humpy shape.

M

A classy and luxurious hump that is

 

[NarutoRamen]

I'm sorry, but I'm missing something. Is this soft-top?

 

[ree]

Interesting to see, that the new Airscarf has a control to steer the air volume or probably the direction of the air stream…like on a normal air vent!!

 

[JLBM]

Interesting to see, that the new Airscarf has a control to steer the air volume or probably the direction of the air stream…like on a normal air vent!!

Well spotted! It needed that - my SLK used to blow too high or too low depending on the height of the headrest.. This will make the system perfect.

 

[Der Hofmeister]

I'm sorry, but I'm missing something. Is this soft-top?

You are certainly missin' something. The E-Class Cabrio will have a soft-top.

 

[NarutoRamen]

You are certainly missin' something. The E-Class Cabrio will have a soft-top.

Soft-top? Dammit. Oh well, looks like the 3er remains my fav in this category still.

 

[Der Hofmeister]

^But, remember, BMW used to think a classic, proper cabrio should be soft-top. Until they came with their 3er Cabrio...

Let's just leave the hard-top for the roadsters(e.g. SLK, SL). Plus, a cloth top helps to better differentiate the cabrio from the coupe, and in MB range, the cabrios from the roadsters. And it also gives the new E-Class Cabrio its own personality.

E 500 Cabrio, 18" 5-spoke rims, Obsidianschwarz metallic paint finish for the exterior, Flamencorot leather upholstery and a dark cherry colour for the soft-top - I think it sounds very sexy!

 

[Shining Star]

 

[Shining Star]

MT-First look- 2011 E Class Cabriolet

Bet you didn't know the origin of the word "cabriolet." In the horse-and-buggy era, the word was applied to lightweight open carriages pulled by two horses and used primarily for pleasure rides in fair weather. The word was pinched from the French verb "cabrioler," meaning "to cavort" -- move about carelessly, playfully or boisterously -- or "to cut a caper." The next installment in Mercedes-Benz's long line of "cavorters" isn't exactly lightweight, but it promises to extend pleasure driving well beyond the traditional fair-weather season, thanks to a new innovation dubbed Aircap.

Aircap is engineered to work with the headrest-mounted neck-warming Airscarf to make top-down driving comfortable in the chillier weather that prevails in the U.K., Germany, and other northern climes where convertible sales are strongest. The challenge presented to engineers was to provide a largely draft-free top-down driving experience for all four passengers, ruling out those mesh screen gizmos that render the rear seat unusable. They started work in the 1990s and developed several solutions that were functional but aesthetically unpalatable.

The decade-plus spent developing this concept will finally pay off on the 2011 E-Class. The solution consists of a discreet piano-black panel that normally lies flush along the top of the windshield header. When deployed, it rises 2.4 inches, erecting a nylon screen fence similar to those used by some sunroof wind deflectors. Another screen bridging between the rear head restraints simultaneously moves up into place at the touch of a button. About 50 percent of the air hitting the front screen flows through it, slowing down by about 30 percent. This helps create a laminar (smooth) airflow that nearly traces the profile of the convertible top, with calm air below, and turbulent air above. This calm air zone can be heated in winter or cooled in summer.

To demonstrate the system, Mercedes parked a new E-Cab in its historic full-size wind tunnel (dating to 1939, it was the first in the world) and invited me to sit in the front and back seats and assess the cockpit turbulence with and without Aircap at speeds ranging from 48 to 87 mph. At all speeds the difference with and without the system is remarkable. From the front seat, at any speed the system feels every bit like those rear-seat-killing mesh windblockers, rendering the front seat calm, quiet and comfy. Hair will be mussed in the rear seat with or without the system, but Aircap makes 86 mph feel like 48 mph without it, and it makes 72 mph top-down driving tolerable (it's really unpleasant without it). Sadly there is no Airscarf for rear passengers, owing to tight packaging between the seatback and the rollover protection system.

Aircap is integrated into the Pre-Safe crash protection program, which lowers the header panel instantly if an impending accident is sensed. Aircap will be standard in the U.S., but because it's optional in Europe, provisions are in place for a traditional mesh screen backstop, which will be offered by dealers here as well (it's a waste of money).

Some conditions demand top-up driving, and when those prevail the lid can be raised at the touch of a button at speeds below 25 mph. When in place, the new seven-layer "aero-acoustic" top provides near steel-top coupe levels of quiet with no possibility of "ballooning" (the outer layer is tethered to each cross-bow. The fabric top looks classy as well, and registers a 0.28 drag coefficient, down slightly from the coupe's record-setting 0.24 Cd. Incidentally, top down and windows up, the drag increases to 0.33, and with the Aircap in place, that figure climbs to 0.38.


Seating comfort in front and back feels essentially identical to that of the coupe, meaning the sport contoured buckets may strike broad-beamed riders as a bit confining. Rear-seat occupants sit considerably inboard of their front-seat compatriots, placing shoulders rather close, but it's completely comfortable for sub-six-footers.
Sales start in May 2010, and there's no official word on U.S. pricing, but expect a slight bump up from CLK Cabrio pricing, meaning that, as usual, only well-heeled cavorters need apply.

MotorTrend.Com

 

[martinbo]

It certainly lacks the smooth elegance of its predecessors. I like the fact that car makers are still prepared to offer the classic, romanticised fabric roof as opposed to the sometimes clunky folding-metal variety. But, all its interesting technology aside, this new C207 convertible lacks the instant hit image of its forebears.

I find the wheel arch crease treatment on the rear haunches to be overly fussy and heavy-handed:



The flanks above and aft of the rear wheel arches positively dwarf the wheels. The odd rear flares with their slab-like, flat surfacing below the actual arch-creases give the car a heavy looking backside. A far cry from the svelte smoothness of the previous two CLKs. It's a feature that's less prominet on the E Coupe.

 

[cawimmer430]

It's amazing how a car that I adore in coupe form can look so hideous in convertible form. I'm not feeling it to be honest.

The rear flared wheel arches in combination with the absence of a roof don't look good at all. The rear flared wheel arches suit the coupe much better. Maybe I will have to see it in real life first, but for now...NOPE. I don't like it.

 

[Zafiro]

I bet majority of the Benz supporters are going to change their mind about the car after the press release.

 

[ZicZachZo]

The C124 convertible, IMO is not the best representation of the 124. I think the coupe is is the most elegant and best looking model. The convertible looks like a candy bar with wheels and a windscreen. The rear overhang is a disaster!! The original CLK is not bad looking but the E class front doesn't really suit the rest of the car's sportiness. The previous CLK only looked good as a convertible. As for the new car, well, I will reserve judgement until I see the press pics, but compared to the coupe it's lost a lot of sex appeal. Oh well. People will buy the crap out of them regardless; Britney Spears probably already has one on order!

 

[NarutoRamen]

^But, remember, BMW used to think a classic, proper cabrio should be soft-top. Until they came with their 3er Cabrio...

I can care less what BMW think or thought. Ha ha. My personal view has ALWAYS been that I like hart-tops and that soft-tops make a car look cheap.

 

[LaArtist]

 

[Merc1]

The C124 convertible, IMO is not the best representation of the 124. I think the coupe is is the most elegant and best looking model. The convertible looks like a candy bar with wheels and a windscreen. The rear overhang is a disaster!! The original CLK is not bad looking but the E class front doesn't really suit the rest of the car's sportiness. The previous CLK only looked good as a convertible. As for the new car, well, I will reserve judgement until I see the press pics, but compared to the coupe it's lost a lot of sex appeal. Oh well. People will buy the crap out of them regardless; Britney Spears probably already has one on order!

I agree with this to a degree, the C124 Coupe was the prettiest of the 124 family, but the convertible was a gem too IMO. Sure it wasn't designed from the ground up as a convertible, but man what a classy car it was IMO. The 124 in all its variants was just the best of Mercedes-Benz, nothing wrong with any of them for me. I just hate the Mercedes never made a 400CE or 500CE. Could you imagine?


M

 

[ree]

Detailed photo of the new Airscarf…

 

[Shining Star]

Seems very nicely integrated...unlike some other MB models, the Airscarf fits right in...