2013 Mercedes BLS/CLC leaked from the factory floor

 2013 Mercedes BLS/CLC leaked from the factory floor
2013 Mercedes BLS / CLC photo leak - 3.8.2011 / benzinsider.com

CLS gets shrunk

Our spy photographers have already caught the Mercedes BLS/CLC on multiple occasions, but a couple of cell phone images have apparently revealed the car's body-in-white.

Reportedly taken at the Mercedes factory in Hungary, the pictures reveal a small four-door 'coupe' with styling that is heavily influenced by the CLS and F800 Style concept. Additional information is limited, but the vehicle will be based on the MFA platform that underpins the next-generation A- and B-Class.

Engine options will likely carryover from the aforementioned models, so expect a 1.6-liter petrol with 122 PS (90 kW / 121 hp) and 156 PS (115 kW / 154 hp) as well as a 2.0-liter petrol with approximately 203 PS (149 kW / 200 hp). On the diesel side, there should be a 1.8-liter that develops 109 PS (80 kW / 107 hp) and 136 PS (100 kW / 134 hp).

Source: Benz Insider

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 peterjames7 peterjames7
Looks pretty close to the concept, i like it
August 3, 2011 4:13 pm
 alessandro alessandro
It is not a "body in white" or in any way in pre-engineering state. On those pics is an almost production-ready and paint-ready car body. That leak seems intentional too.
August 3, 2011 10:47 pm
 Mister Stig Mister Stig
A 'body-in-white' means an unpainted bodyshell - mothing to do with prototypes.
August 4, 2011 3:25 am
 alessandro alessandro
In car design, the Body in White phase refers to the phase in which the final contours of the car body are worked out, in preparation for ordering of the expensive production stamping die. Extensive computer simulations of crash worthiness, manufacturability, and automotive aerodynamics are required before a clay model from the design studio can be converted into a Body in White ready for production. It is in case of preproduction models like this one in photos. Folklore meaning of BIW is a different thing. Source: Wikipedia, hence mine competence is not good enough.
August 4, 2011 6:29 am
 Mister Stig Mister Stig
Once again Wiki is wrong. http://www.stadco.co.uk/glossary/ Stadco are a panel pressing/body manufactuer. I think they know what body in white means.......
August 4, 2011 9:20 am
 schizo schizo
This has got to be a planned leak...or Mercedes really needs to tighten control of their factories. There is no way they would let a camera phone through security when entering areas with exposure to embargoed products.
August 3, 2011 10:49 pm
 AiR AiR
You think they have guards inside the factory? You haven't been in an assembly plant have you? I have however, and I can tell you from personal experience that security is only strict on the outside, on the inside it's a trusted enviroment, and nobody is going to rob you of your phone just because it happens to have a camera (what phone doesn't?). This may shock you, but people working in car factories really don't care much about cars. It's just a job.
August 5, 2011 12:14 pm
 kenvo3 kenvo3
FWD!
August 3, 2011 11:06 pm
 AG4 AG4
Kinda reminds me of the Jaguar X-type, where they got the styling of a larger RWD car and put it on a smaller FWD platform, everything looks ok, except the wheels look 3-4 inches too close to the front doors (coz its FWD)
August 4, 2011 3:39 pm
 BugattiVeyron41 BugattiVeyron41
These pictures aren't that helpful...it could look like anything. But most Mercs look the same anyway, so it will most probably look like a...Mercedes.
August 4, 2011 12:33 am
 seri seri
Cadillac has the rights for the BLS nameplate.
August 4, 2011 12:46 am