uhear

I do not know if this has been threaded, so I apologize if this is a repeat.

Mercedes will label the next-generation of its C-class based Sportcoupe the new ‘CLC,’ and will present the car for the first time at next year’s Geneva Motor Show. Several prototypes have been spotted undergoing cold weather testing in Sweden recently, and reveal that the new model will share the same basic shape as the outgoing version.

Though the car won’t be arriving in showrooms until a month after its Geneva debut, its mechanicals will be based on the previous C-class model in an effort to keep costs low, according to Auto Motor und Sport. There also reports that suggest the car will be built in Brazil rather than Germany.

uhear

Berlin Fashion Week has been the backdrop for the introduction of the 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLC. Known in its last incarnation as the C-Class Sport Coupe, the compact two-door liftback has been totally restyled with an edgy new look that takes cues from the third-generation C-Class sedan and wagon.

The CLC didn't originally figure in Mercedes-Benz's model lineup (the C-Class Sport Coupe was never the success that Mercedes had hoped for), but it has been hurriedly developed to counter the unanticipated success of the BMW 1 Series, which itself started slowly, yet now has firmly established itself throughout Europe.

The growing enthusiasm for smaller cars in the U.S. plus the presence in America of the Audi A3, Mini Cooper S and Volvo C30, and the forthcoming arrival of the BMW 1 Series also imply that the general market for premium small cars in the U.S. might be growing.

In fact, rumors suggest Mercedes-Benz might even be readying a convertible version of the 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLC to go up against the new 2008 BMW 1 Series Convertible.

Hatchback No More
The 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLC has a bit more premium spin than the former C-Class Sport Coupe, so it slots into the present C-Class lineup just beneath the CLK.

As you'd expect, the CLC adopts the aggressive front end of the new-generation C-Class with its dual trapezoidal headlights and does away with the classic, round quad headlights. The CLC also features a prominent twin-slat grille, a look that gives it a clear family resemblance to the upmarket Mercedes-Benz CL (a connection Mercedes hopes to use to its marketing advantage).

Other styling tweaks are less dramatic. The bumpers are now a lot edgier and the front fenders get some more creases. There's a prominent character line down the flanks and the awkward-looking tailgate has been reworked to do away with the additional glass panel originally adopted to improve rear vision. Otherwise, the look is much the same as before.

Greetings From Brazil!
Despite its new look, the CLC does not adopt the significantly updated platform of its sedan and wagon siblings. In the interest of cost-saving production efficiency, the CLC relies on a lightly reworked version of its predecessor's rear-wheel-drive underpinnings, which date back to 2001. So the new CLC sits on a 106.9-inch wheelbase compared to the 108.7-inch wheelbase of the new C-Class sedan and wagon.

Ironically, the decision to base the CLC on a previous-generation platform has forced Mercedes-Benz to rethink the car's manufacturing site. Without a suitable German production facility in which to assemble the new car, Mercedes has instead moved the CLC to a factory in Brazil that was originally established in the mid-1990s to build the tiny front-wheel-drive A-Class.

Slightly Motivated
Powering the CLC will be a wide range of four- and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines — all from the latest C-Class.

The lineup begins with a pair of supercharged 1.8-liter inline-4s — the entry-level CLC180 Kompressor is powered by a 143-horsepower version, while the CLC200 Kompressor is powered by a 184-hp iteration.

The next step up the ladder of performance leads you to the CLC230 with a 204-hp 2.4-liter V6. Finally you get to the CLC350 with its 272-hp 3.5-liter V6, and this is enough power to get this car to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.3 seconds on the way to a top speed of 155 mph.

On the diesel side, there are two 2.2-liter inline-4s with common-rail injection. The CLC200 CDI kicks out 122 hp and the CLC220 CDI produces 150 hp.

The supercharged four-cylinder engines are matched to a five-speed transmission, while the V6 engines feature the latest Mercedes seven-speed automatic with shift paddles on the steering wheel. A six-speed manual transmission is standard.

It's New, Really
Though it relies on the same basic chassis as its predecessor, the CLC is supposed to be a much sportier drive than before, Mercedes claims.

The key element is the new variable-rate steering rack borrowed from the German carmaker's SLK roadster. At the same time, the tuning of the four-link independent front suspension and the multilink independent rear suspension has been thoroughly revised with stiffer spring rates and firmer dampers across the lineup. The Stuttgart engineers privately tell us that it all adds up to "sharper and more direct" responses.

If this is not enough, you'll also be able to specify the CLC with an optional sport package that lowers the ride height fractionally, and no doubt there will be an AMG model of the CLC on the way.

No information has been released as yet about pricing, but it appears that the 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLC is going to get serious about the market for premium-class small cars.

Stryder04

I kinda like the coupe, but i dont know if I would trade my sedan in for it.

misterng

It looks more like a hatchback than a coupe.

syrAMG

Not such a huge fan of the CLC

however!! I do want those headlight & Mirrors as well as the Grille (should have had those grilles on the W204 in the 1st place)

I wish I can swap them for my W204

jrct9454

Whatever you think, if you're a USA customer, chances are you'll never get to buy the car. The dealers don't want it.

chilledbenz

Wow..too bad it didn't actually look like the picture the first user posted, that looks pretty sweet. In reality its just an old w203 with the front clip of the w204 But man that first pic is looking so nice, wish they would have used that concept, doesn't look as stubby and old. From their point of view they probably saved a ton of money not making a whole new model that they were afraid wouldn't sell like the last one.

IgorDj

ANyone esle find the back from the side view is awful????
I like the sedan so much better.

Kinda looks like a hatchback

tanktube67

Thanks for sharing,
There is a thread on the W203 forum about the coupe, like I said on that Forum I like the way the MM was built into the dash

RLE

<<Anyone esle find the back from the side view is awful????
I like the sedan so much better. Kinda looks like a hatchback>>

Since I never pass up an opportunity to bad-mouth the C-coupe......

The new (?) one clearly uses the body shell of the old one which is why the back end is so ugly, still.

My experience with them goes back to when a local MB dealer was using them as service loaners. I had two different ones in six months and found them to be hardly up to MB's standards, whatever that meant. I have never seen so many shades of black inside and the supercharged 4-cylinder lump up front had the smoothness and sophistication one might compare with an early John Deere tractor.

And the rear end, hiked up in the air, is reminiscent of a cat in heat.

MTI

Mercedes needs a car to compete at the price point with the BMW 1-Series.

chilledbenz

It is a hatchback, but that first picture is a picture of either a prototype or someones photoshop of what they think it would look like and it appears to have a much cleaner looking rear quarters. Its a shame MB didn't take them up on that idea instead of just reusing an old body.

aowhaus

the first pic is definitely a photoshop, as the new CLC side styling is almost unchanged from the old W203 Sportscoupe. Only the front and rear ends has been noticably restyled. Don't know if you have noticed, almost all of the promotional photos for the Mercedes Fashion Week have the models covering the sides of the CLC, the least improved part of the car.

I actually like the rear end styling, it's definately modern and more substantial looking than the old model. I kind of wished the side windows and door panels have more of the edgier styling as the rest of the car (just like how it's shown in the first pic).

The interior is still possesses the previous generation styling and not the restyled W204 interior, which is a tell tale sign that this model will not be imported to North America.

mbny

why can't they just make a regular coupe with a normal trunk! The hatchback look is just aweful. Rest of the car is sexy.

JRAMGV8

I rather get a CLK...

syrAMG

+1 thank you!! they really should

Oh! whats this....nope its only a concept...or is it?

starting with the CLC and then the upcoming SL both look like a chop cut and paste front end job....I hope they dont do the same for the new E-Class
hoping to get that in 3yrs or so.

Untertürkheim

They do, it is called the CLK.

Nola

So do they call this thing a W203 or a W204?

Edit: The one in the first pic is what i would consider a proper W204 coupe... the one in the rest of the pictures is a facelifted W203 coupe, hence the question.

chilledbenz

Production Shots.





One good thing that might come out of this car...a possiable direct grill swap for those wanting that blacked out C63 look.

marakbai

forget that ... GLK all the way baby!