2022 Mercedes C-Class Could Be Limited To Four-Pot Engines Only – Including The AMG C63

With the unveiling of the new-gen C-class reportedly set for February 23, more details on Mercedes-Benz's next BMW 3-Series and Audi A4 competitor have started emerging, and it appears that the engine lineup will be indeed revolutionized.

We heard in the past that the premium compact model from the Stuttgart car brand might ditch the six- and eight-cylinder engines in favor of an exclusive four-pot lineup developed in house (no more Renault powertrains), and that might not be a rumor after all. Nonetheless, until Mercedes steps forward officially and makes the announcement, we will continue to take it with the proverbial pinch of salt.



According to Car&Driver, the 2022 C-Class lineup will only get four bangers across the range, starting with Europe's entry-level C180 and ending with the AMG C63. The latter will supposedly lose the 4.0-liter bi-turbo V8 in favor of a heavily electrified four-cylinder unit, with some claiming that the 2.0-liter mill powering the '45' family might be the best candidate for the job. The new AMG C63 should develop in excess of 500 HP.

A new 48-volt mild-hybrid system will be implemented to all engines, save for the plug-in hybrids, of course, which are believed to include variants powered by gasoline and diesel, though the oil burners will be limited to Europe in all likelihood.

The U.S. market might get the C300 Sedan before the end of the year, with rear- and all-wheel drive, making approximately 250 HP. The AMG variants should follow, and a plug-in hybrid will probably complete the offering.

The new C-Class is said to lose the optional air suspension, though different chassis set-ups, with electronically adjustable dampers on the most expensive variants, will be included. Another new feature will reportedly be the adoption of rear-axle steering, for improved high-speed cornering and more maneuverability in the city.

Last, but definitely not least, the classic grille with the three-pointed star hood ornament will no longer be offered in the West, but it should live on in China, on the long-wheelbase model.


Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2021/02/2022-mercedes-c-class-will-be-limited-to-four-pot-engines-including-the-amg-c63/

Hard to decide if I'm more upset about the V8 or the hood mounted star. But I thought the hood mounted star only appeared on the S-class and maybe E-class these days?

Actually, definitely more sad about the V8. The time is now to open your wallets and get something good! Times are changing, the opportunities will be a fraction of what  they are now in ten years.

I'd rather skip right to EVs than deal with 4 cylinders instead of V8s.

The end of an era.  I was the program manager for the suspension on the 205 for US and South Africa assembly.  That launch probably took a couple years off my life, but that car will always be special to me.

If I had more $ and needed a new car, I'd go for a C63 today, in no small part due to that V8. Don't know if I'd feel the same way about it without one.

Modern four-cylinders are so smooth, have great NVH qualities and are powerful and responsive (even with a turbo) that I don't see this as being a problem for the majority of buyers. I mean in Europe and elsewhere most C-Classes are sold with 4-cylinders anyway.

The AMG model will be interesting. Maybe it will still get an EQ-Boost inline-6...

Mercedes Reveals Why The C-Class' 6-Cylinder Had To Go For 2022

Mercedes' chief engineer, Christian Früh, has revealed that handling and packaging were behind the brand's decision to drop the 6-cylinder engine from the C-Class lineup.

We've all heard and processed the news that there will be no C-Classes (not even AMGs) offered with a V8 in the upcoming generation. Emission regulations being what they are, the reasons for Mercedes's decision are clear. What's less obvious, though, is why the straight-six had to go, too.

Speaking to Germany's Automobilwoche, Früh revealed that the 3.0-liter engine would have been too big of a compromise. The engineer says that to accommodate the larger engine, the front end would have had to grow by 50 mm (nearly two inches).

Worse still, the heavier engine would have increased the load on the front axle, which has negative impacts on handling. The power advantage that the straight-six would have offered is also overrated, according to the engineer.

"Performance-wise, we have more than made up for the difference between the four- and six-cylinder engines through the plug-in hybrid models," Früh told Automobilwoche. "Besides a slight increase in smoothness, these engines have significantly better efficiency."

Every C-Class will be electrified to some degree, Mercedes revealed this week. Cars on the lower end of the range may receive mild-hybrids while the higher-end models will be plug-in hybrids.

For fans of Mercedes' rear-wheel-drive dynamics, though, there's good news. Mercedes will continue to mount the engine longitudinally, rather than installing it transversely. The space-, complexity- and cost-saving advantages of mounting an engine sideways can't make up for the "indisputable" performance advantages of a traditional longitudinal setup in the premium class.

Advantages "include superior traction, steering that's completely free of driving influences, and a premium chassis with a correspondingly complex rear axle design," said Früh. "The result is comfort, handling, stability driving characteristics that are clearly superior to a front-wheel-drive car."

Fruh also revealed that although there are plans to introduce an electric C-Class at some point in the future, it won't be any time soon, and might not even happen during this upcoming generation. He explains that although the engineers could have maybe stuffed enough batteries and motors into the car's MRA platform to make an EV, that "would have distorted the DNA of the C-Class."

He adds that although Mercedes' Electric Vehicle Architecture could be used for the E- and the S-Class, the size and the budget of the C-Class mean that it can't happen immediately.


Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2021/02/mercedes-reveals-why-the-c-classs-6-cylinder-had-to-go-for-2022/