New Mercedes-Benz C-Class W206: more details on engines and electrification

Just over a week before the final unveiling of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class W206, more information is emerging about what to expect from the next generation - with the spotlight firmly on the engines it will offer.

For anyone hoping for six- or eight-cylinder power, the news is not encouraging: every engine in the new C-Class will have no more than four cylinders. No V8 for the Mercedes-AMG C 63, and not even a six-cylinder option for the successor to the C 43… everything will be “swept away”, leaving four cylinders and four cylinders only.

The Mr. Benz channel had the chance to get an early look at the still-unrevealed model, and even ride in it as a passenger - with Christian Früh at the wheel, the head of development for the last three generations of the C-Class - which gave us the opportunity to learn about several of its key features:

What did we “discover”?

We learned that the new C-Class W206 will be slightly larger both outside and inside, and that it will share a significant amount of in-car technology with the new S-Class W223 - most notably the second generation of MBUX. As you can see, like the S-Class it will feature a generously sized vertical display dominating the centre console.

The car shown in the video was a C 300 AMG Line, featuring distinctive elements such as the AMG sports steering wheel, with a flattened bottom and a thicker rim. It is also possible to see that, as with the new S-Class, the new C-Class may be specified with rear-axle steering (four-wheel steering).

Four cylinders… not one more

The biggest headline, however, has to be its powertrains because, as mentioned, every single one will be a four-cylinder… not one cylinder more.

According to Christian Früh, all of them - petrol or diesel - are new or effectively new, because every unit has, in one way or another, been electrified. That runs from 48 V mild-hybrid systems through to plug-in hybrids. The 48 V mild-hybrid versions use a new electric motor-generator (ISG, Integrated Starter-Generator) producing 15 kW (20 cv) and 200 Nm.

Even so, it is the plug-in hybrids that attract the most attention: a 100 km electric range is being promised, essentially around twice what is achievable today. That figure is made possible by a battery that almost doubles in capacity, from 13.5 kWh to 25.4 kWh.

The plug-in hybrids (petrol and diesel) for the new C-Class W206 will arrive later, next autumn. Beyond the 100 km electric range, the “marriage” between the combustion engine - in this case petrol - and the electric motor delivers around 320 cv and 650 Nm.

Still according to Früh, the petrol mild-hybrid engines will offer outputs between 170 cv and 258 cv (1.5 l and 2.0 l engines), while the diesel units will sit between 200 cv and 265 cv (2.0 l). In the latter case, this is achieved using the OM 654 M, described as the most powerful four-cylinder diesel engine in the world.

Goodbye, V8

Although the video does not mention future AMG models based on the W206, other sources confirm that the four-cylinder limit will also apply to the highest-performance C-Class variants.

The chosen engine is expected to be the M 139 - currently used in the A 45 and A 45 S - to replace the V6 in today’s C 43 and, more shockingly, the thunderous and characterful twin-turbo V8 in the C 63 - “downsizing” taken too far?

If the successor to the C 43 (final name still to be confirmed) pairs the potent M 139 with a 48 V mild-hybrid system, the C 63 will move to a plug-in hybrid set-up. In other words, the M 139 will be combined with an electric motor for a total system output that should reach, at minimum, the 510 cv of the current C 63 S (W205).

And as a plug-in hybrid, it will even be possible to drive in 100% electric mode. Signs of the times…