Best Shots yet of New Mercedes CLK Replacement/E Class Coupe Caught
In 2009 Mercedes will launch a successor to the Mercedes CLK which Daimler will move up a notch to the E-Class level. The underpinnings will still be provided by the current generation C-Class, but with a style reflecting very much the new E-Class. We will see a preview of this styling in person in just a few weeks when Mercedes unveil the ConceptFASCINATION. The new direction of its coupe is an attempt by Mercedes to return the E-Class to the legendary status once achieved by the W124 E-Class generation.
As the C-Class is providing the platform we are likely to see a similar engine range which will undoubtedly include Bluetec diesel options and a hybrid model – an area which will account for a large proportion of the German automaker's sales in the future.
These shots caught by our spies show the E-Class coupe continuing its development and has shed a little more disguise. Close inspection on some of the styling lines show the similarities between this and the ConceptFASCINATION.
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Comments
All of the reading I've done consistently says the platform will come from the current C-Class even though this model will be badged as an E-Class Coupe. Before the CLK line name existed years ago, Mercedes used to shorten the chassis from the (then) E-Class sedan to make it small enough to be a coupe. Using the C-Class platform will save Benz money by eliminating the need for yet another platform or platform alteration. That is my understanding.
I hope they offer it in a luxury version like the c class so I can get that classic grill.
conventionally, coupe variants are priced higher than sedans anyways.
the design of the coupes can be different, and closer to an E in this case, but i doubt MB will name it a E coupe.
And just to reassert what rcw said, the CLK has always used E-Class styling and instruments but has been based on the C-Class platform. The real cost savings came in the first (C208) generation, since it was MB's first coupe in decades with a full B-pillar. (The C124 E320 Coupe was priced 50% over an E320 Sedan when it left the US market in 1995.) The current C209 costs more because it's a hardtop, requiring significant engineering differences over the C-Class sedans to attain the structural strength expected of a Mercedes. Looks like the new one butches up a little over the too-feminine C209, which is nice to see. Wouldn't mind the shooting brake body of the concept either (minus that nasty rear wheel arch).









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