Stuttgart’s latest two-door model brings ”vivid, sensuous design” to our roads.
What’s the simplest way to add instant sex appeal to a humdrum car? Decrease the number of doors of course! Manufacturers all over the world have been doing this simple task for generations, to inject a bit more style into their ranges. Even if the rest of the bodywork goes unchanged, the little act of deleting two rear doors spices a car’s looks up no end, as can be seen in the multitude of sedan-based coupes over the decades.
Nobody understands this better than Mercedes-Benz, who have been producing two-door Coupes alongside their four-door sedans since the postwar years, and this tradition continues on with the 2016 C-Class Coupe.
The latest C-Class Coupe is based on the current W205 generation model, and features a much swoopier, flowing body than before. And, just as its sedan counterpart mimics the styling of the flagship S-Class limousine, so too does the C-Class Coupe closely resemble the svelte S-Class Coupe, particularly at the rear.
In terms of size, the C-Class Coupe is identical to the sedan in all dimensions except height (the Coupe is 37mm shorter). It is longer, wider and lower than its predecessor though, which helps contribute to that elegant profile. More crucially, thanks to high-strength materials in the body and aluminium wings, bonnet and boot lid, the new car is both lighter and stiffer than before, which will aid driving dynamics and efficiency.
For Singapore, five different variants in total will be available. Initially on sale are the 1.6-litre C180 with 156hp, and the 2.0-litre C200 and C300, with 184 and 245hp respectively. Later on, the fire breathing C63 and C63 S AMG models will also arrive, sporting the familiar 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 with either 476 or 510hp. As you can imagine, we like the AMG model very much, as we found out when we reviewed the C63 S in sedan guise.
Standard equipment on the C-Class Coupe includes electrically adjustable ARTICO leather sports seats, DYNAMIC SELECT drive mode selector, AGILITY CONTROL suspension, 7-inch multimedia screen with touchpad, automatic seatbelt feeders and PARKTRONIC parking assistance. The C200 adds a full LED lighting system with different leather upholstery to the extensive list, while the C300 goes even further with a sports exhaust, Burmester Surround Sound audio system, and larger rims. Additionally, further optional equipment includes AIRMATIC suspension, a colour heads up display, COMAND Online multimedia system, DISTRONIC PLUS safety assistance, and an AMG Line styling package.
As of press time, pricing for the C-Class Coupe is $183,888 for the C180, $209,888 for the C200 and $247,888 for the C300.
