All models of the C-Class new model will feature four-cylinder engines with an automatic gearbox.
Tobias Moers, AMG CEO and currently Aston Martin CEO, took many people by surprise when it revealed that the next-generation C63 would be hybrid. Why? Why? A rumor claimed that the new C63 would lose half its cylinders in October 2019. Mercedes confirmed this week that the engine would be reduced by half.
C-Class chief engineer Christian Fruh shared important details about the W206 in an interview with Driver. The new generation will use a rear-wheel-drive architecture, sourced from the S-Class, because it is “impossible” to achieve the same handling and balance using a front-wheel-drive platform.
All C-Class models will be available with only four-cylinder engines. Yes, even the AMGs. Although it is not clear if the C43 will be renamed C53, we know that the C43 will get an electrified four port instead of the V6. To make way for a hybrid four-cylinder engine C&D, the top dog will also be losing its powerful V8.
The C-Class with a manual transmission is still available, although it’s rare. The successor to the C-Class will have a nine speed automatic transmission. Fruh also revealed that the new generation will feature an all-Mercedes engine line-up, which means no co-developed powertrains with Renault.
Mercedes has already announced that the electric turbocharger will be available on a production vehicle in 2021. This will effectively end the dreaded turbolag. Although some believe the C63 will receive the e-turbo technology first, nothing is confirmed at this time. It’s possible we will see it in the GT73e plug in hybrid, arriving in the next months with approximately 800 horsepower.
The non-AMG C-Class Sedan will be unveiled at the world premiere on February 23. The wagon will likely follow, with the C43/C53 AMGs and C63 C63 AMGs due to arrive on the market in 2022.