Mercedes E Class Coupe Moves Ahead of Geneva Debut

[Z-06]

Linkity

Mercedes Benz E Class Coupe

Debut for Geneva

Highlights:

• 4 to 8 cylinder engines making 136hp to 382 hp.
• Coefficient of Drag of 0.24.
• Uses technologies seen in the bigger brother - SL Class like road sign recognition, emergency breaking etc.

One of the hottest cars set to grace the stands at next month's Geneva Motor Show has been revealed today in the form of the all-new 2010 Mercedes Benz E-Class Coupe. The svelte two-door is the hotly anticipated replacement for the aging CLK Coupe, which has been falling behind against newer competition such as the Audi A5 and E92 BMW 3-series Coupe, and on initial inspection it looks like the latest E-Class Coupe has the competition nailed in the styling department.

The Coupe's styling is based heavily on the new 2010 E-Class Sedan, unveiled at last month's Detroit Auto Show, and it shares most of its engines and its interior with the four-door as well. Thankfully, the new E-Class Coupe also retains the pillar-less glasshouse design and fully retractable side windows of the previous generation CLK.

At the same time the most aerodynamic variant of these achieves an impressive drag coefficient of just 0.24Cd – a figure that is comparable with cars like the Toyota Prius and upcoming Chevrolet Volt.

The range of engines available for the new E-Class Coupe comprises four, six and eight-cylinder units with outputs from 100 kW/136 hp to 285kW/382hp - the top end model being the E500/550. Expect to see an AMG version, however, debut with at least 500hp (373kW) later in the year. The four-cylinder engines are newly developed direct-injection units, which develop a higher output and torque than the comparable V6-engines of the preceding series despite a smaller displacement.

Also fitted to the E-Class Coupe is Mercedes' Agility Control active suspension set-up. This automatically adjusts the firmness of the suspension given the driving conditions and works together with a user-controllable selective damper setting called Dynamic Driving.

Other technologies include drowsiness detection warning systems, a pop-up bonnet, road sign recognition, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive self-dimming head lights.

The new E-Class Coupe will first hit European showrooms this May and should be on sale in the U.S. by the third-quarter of the year. Expect pricing and availability details to be revealed following the car's debut at the upcoming Geneva event.

[source: Motorauthority]

[§carlet §wordfish]

LEXUS WANTS ITS TAILLIGHTS BACK just to get it out of the way.

Much nicer looking than a Lexus though I think, and better than the sedan. I still like the front end a lot.

They sure struck out with that interior, though.

[MyerShift]

Hmm. With that cut rear glass pane (in order for it to retract into the body work I'm sure) the rear glasshouse looks positively Audi-esque!

[Paolino]

What's with Mercedes and their interiors lately? They blow...

[MyerShift]

What's with Mercedes and their interiors lately? They blow...

Maybe since they realized that there was no way in hell they could save themselves from themselves; so ditched Chrysler in some way of the hopes they could right their wrongs.

Yeah, there's my crazy spin to why their interiors are bad (and why Chrysler's are as well).

Sorry all. I was up for some humour!

[bobo]

I think the new E will grow on me, and this is helping.

[Robert Hall]

Maybe since they realized that there was no way in hell they could save themselves from themselves; so ditched Chrysler in some way of the hopes they could right their wrongs.

Yeah, there's my crazy spin to why their interiors are bad (and why Chrysler's are as well).

Sorry all. I was up for some humour!

Maybe they kept Chrysler's interior people for themselves when they sold off Chrysler...

Interesting way they did the quarter window...makes for a very long glass area for a 2dr.. the little window at the back is better than black plastic, I suppose, but they could have just made the c-pillar thicker. I suppose they needed it for the window to retract all the way into the body, had the quarter window been the full length of the opening it probably wouldn't clear the wheel arch when lowered. I assume that tiny window is fixed?

Interesting that they decided to jettison the CLK name and go back to E-class, as it was prior to the CLK (W126 300CE, E320 coupe, etc).

Edited February 17, 2009 by moltar

[Intrepidation]

So...hardtop with a fixed triangle window in back = EPIC FAIL.

This thing looks better than the sedan but that's not saying much.

Once again, it looks like Daimler kept the guys in charge of styling Chrysler's interiors. I looks downright cheap. The dash doesn't even look like it has stitching on it...the freakin' Ram has stitching on it's dash!

[cletus8269]

is it just me or is anyone else feeling honda accord coupe?

[Robert Hall]

So...hardtop with a fixed triangle window in back = EPIC FAIL.

This thing looks better than teh sedan but that's not saying much.

Once again, it looks like Daimler kept the guys in charge of styling Chrysler's interiors. I looks downright cheap. The dash doesn't even look like it has stitching on it...the freakin' Ram has stitching on it's dash!

The fixed window reminds of the kind of stuff some car makers did in the 40s-50s on 2dr sedans...I think the '49 Ford had something like that, as did some Dodges and Plymouths..just looks cheap.

M-B didn't do sh*t like this in the past, look at their '80s-90s hardtops, they had serious, thick C-pillars and quarter windows that went all the way down...even with the recent CLs and their thin C-pillars, they didn't do this kind of nonsense.

Edited February 17, 2009 by moltar

[turbo200]

i don't get everyone's dislike of mb's latest interior design philosophy. i see technical, robust, commanding, impressive. it's not ghetto fabulous bling like some other mfgs...it's imposing stark brute and very minimalist with a high level of quality and impressive luxury quotient.

as with all MB design, the AMG version will really light this one up, can't wait to see it. this is thier mainstream luxury offering, the midline E-class. the C may sell in higher numbers, but the E is their profit central, and sells to a more affluent and mature buyer base. they need to keep excitement and frill to a minimum while staying on the forefront of luxurious design.

[Robert Hall]

i don't get everyone's dislike of mb's latest interior design philosophy. i see technical, robust, commanding, impressive. it's not ghetto fabulous bling like some other mfgs...it's imposing stark brute and very minimalist with a high level of quality and impressive luxury quotient.

as with all MB design, the AMG version will really light this one up, can't wait to see it. this is thier mainstream luxury offering, the midline E-class. the C may sell in higher numbers, but the E is their profit central, and sells to a more affluent and mature buyer base. they need to keep excitement and frill to a minimum while staying on the forefront of luxurious design.

Too much black plastic..albeit,.this is a grainy pic, but the dash design and detail looks like something from a $20k Mitsubishi generic...nothing special. Compare this to a 3-series or A5 dash.

[Intrepidation]

i don't get everyone's dislike of mb's latest interior design philosophy. i see technical, robust, commanding, impressive. it's not ghetto fabulous bling like some other mfgs...it's imposing stark brute and very minimalist with a high level of quality and impressive luxury quotient.

as with all MB design, the AMG version will really light this one up, can't wait to see it. this is thier mainstream luxury offering, the midline E-class. the C may sell in higher numbers, but the E is their profit central, and sells to a more affluent and mature buyer base. they need to keep excitement and frill to a minimum while staying on the forefront of luxurious design.

It's blocky, it looks like other recent Mercedes cars (like the C-Class). These are just the same things Chrysler was criticized for. It doesn't look robust it looks cheap. There's a lack of detail everywhere. Little if any stitching, the center stack is black plastic and a sea of buttons.

As for the outside, it's generic out back which I guess is step up from the ugly Maybach wanna be rear ends of late? The worst offender is that fixed window...it might as well not be a hardtop.

[Cory Wolfe]

Am I the only one who can't see the pictures? *raises eyebrow*

[Intrepidation]

Apparently...consider yourself lucky.

[Robert Hall]

One thing that is odd, for a hardtop, I have yet to see any pics with the windows down.

I wonder what our resident hardtop lunatic will think..

[Cory Wolfe]

Apparently...consider yourself lucky.

That, and when I click on the link I get "Error, Not found" via that website.

[balthazar]

My B-59 hardtops quarter glass retracts 100% into the quarter with a thinner C-pillar than that - Buick engineered an S-track which first draws the glass rearward, then pivots & drops the front edge down until it's all gone.

Fixed pane in the mercedes makes it look like a 4-dr greenhouse on a 2-dr. Slightly unsettling. Frankly- the car would look notably sportier if the greenhouse wasn't so lengthy, then the quick-fix of the quarter window problem would remedy itself.

Is it just me or is the frontal overhang continuing to grow?

Interior is generic and not all that stylistically inspired or cohesive.

Edited February 17, 2009 by balthazar

[pow]

Looks good in white (third pic down)... those wheels look Brabus-inspired. 0.24Cd is very impressive; shame about the blocky interior that's inflicted recent Mercs and Chryslers.

[Z-06]

That, and when I click on the link I get "Error, Not found" via that website.

May be your computer is using its Volkswagen firewall that prevents other German vehicles from being viewed.

I checked the link using IE and FF on all my computers and it works.

[Cory Wolfe]

May be your computer is using its Volkswagen firewall that prevents other German vehicles from being viewed.

I checked the link using IE and FF on all my computers and it works.

It works now. It didn't yesterday. I tried both browsers, too. Odd.

i don't get everyone's dislike of mb's latest interior design philosophy. i see technical, robust, commanding, impressive. it's not ghetto fabulous bling like some other mfgs...it's imposing stark brute and very minimalist with a high level of quality and impressive luxury quotient.

as with all MB design, the AMG version will really light this one up, can't wait to see it. this is thier mainstream luxury offering, the midline E-class. the C may sell in higher numbers, but the E is their profit central, and sells to a more affluent and mature buyer base. they need to keep excitement and frill to a minimum while staying on the forefront of luxurious design.

Now that I can see it... I can officially say that I'm beginning to have less faith in your automotive taste. That interior is just piss-poor. In these pictures its a little better than what we saw for the sedan, but that interior does not look like in belongs in anything above $30k.

[Intrepidation]

It works now. It didn't yesterday. I tried both browsers, too. Odd.

Your comp sucks.

Now that I can see it... I can officially say that I'm beginning to have less faith in your automotive taste. That interior is just piss-poor. In these pictures its a little better than what we saw for the sedan, but that interior does not look like in belongs in anything above $30k.

[Cory Wolfe]

Your comp sucks.

I even went to their website and looked around for it. I think there's a conspiracy here... Haha.

[§carlet §wordfish]

Huh, I thought the little triangle window would roll down as well like on the W-Cutlass convertible. I wouldn't mind it being fixed if it didn't have the frame around it. It just looks silly now.

Still like the exterior.

[Satty]

I like it.

[turbo200]

I still know a good looking car when I see it man. my taste is evolving, but even if we disagree in this I think you can have faith I have my reasons. these interiors may look bland or not special in person and in pictures, but the devil is in the details. I guess I'm just enthusiastic when it comes to mercedes in general, I think they have struck a fine balance between agression, luxury, and conservative enduring character.....looking at exterior expression. so i'm thinking of the overall package when i critique the interior and how it fits with the car. if you get a chance to visit a MB dealer, anytime that you can even after dark if you're afraid of aproaching someone, try to sit in a C-class, or better yet at a show.

i guess i'm bowled over by them for a few reasons. 1 is the quality, it's really great imo, smells wonderful everything fits and feels just great. 2 in person the individual design of all the pieces is really great and germanic in nature...how I like it, there's no fuss and every piece just looks technically superior and designed with extroadinarily subdued character, how i like it again. 3 the overall design may not be impressive or flashy like a CTS or even called artful, but it's stout imposing clean .....there aren't a lot of great lines and it doesn't say warm or inviting like say a lexus but it's technical and superior looking. it may not be a definition of art, but it's sort of snobbish and mature and demure, and i like it.

[balthazar]

>>"I guess I'm just enthusiastic when it comes to mercedes in general"<<

You could've left it at the above, you know.

Edited February 18, 2009 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

I'll have to wait until I sit in one to really judge it, but the dash doesn't impress me in these pics. But I usually like Mercs... esp. the coupes.

[regfootball]

i guess panther has a new ride.

[Robert Hall]

i guess panther has a new ride.

In 25 years

[bobo]

I'm not crazy about the fixed little rear quarter window, but I accept it in a "form follows function" way. They could have just made the pillar wider, but that would be at a cost of outward visibility.

Since the new coupe is a proper E-Class and not the C/E tweener CLK, I would assume that it would have a healthy bump in price. But could there be room for a real C-Series coupe, and not the little hatchback thing based on the last generation C-Class.

[Robert Hall]

I'm not crazy about the fixed little rear quarter window, but I accept it in a "form follows function" way. They could have just made the pillar wider, but that would be at a cost of outward visibility.

Since the new coupe is a proper E-Class and not the C/E tweener CLK, I would assume that it would have a healthy bump in price. But could there be room for a real C-Series coupe, and not the little hatchback thing based on the last generation C-Class.

Yes... but from what I've read, there is going to a CLC, a 4dr 'coupe' styled like a small CLS.

IIRC, when the CLK replaced the E-class coupe in '96, there was a price drop relative to the W124 E-class coupe it replaced. I would expect a price jump now that they are going the other way.

Edited February 18, 2009 by moltar

[Sixty8panther]

Wow... this is NEWS to me.

=-=

While there's a dozen different ways they could have

eliminated the rear mini-window thing... my personal

idea would be to move the C-pillar forward just a few

inches and wrap the rear glass around a bit, a subtle

nod to the 1950s.

ANd let's not forget, this is NO MORE "epic fail" than

a Cadillac that competes wiht it with a FIXED rear 1/4

window. At least Mercedes tried, though it came off a

bit awkward it's not that far off this:

(since Balthazar & I are always referencing 1959 GMs)

The 1959 Buick Electra 225 Riviera

(Bubbletop-sedan hardtop)

Same idea, though better executed: small FIXED window

taht does not retract fixed to the C-pillar.

In both cases there is still NO B-post and the hardtop

fun prevails.

(all GM 4-door bubbletop hardtops had this in 59 & 60)

[Intrepidation]

To me, if it's going to be a hardtop ALL OF THE GLASS SHOULD ROLL DOWN. Otherwise it defeats the purpose and might as well have a pillar, IMHO

[Satty]

To me, if it's going to be a hardtop ALL OF THE GLASS SHOULD ROLL DOWN. Otherwise it defeats the purpose and might as well have a pillar, IMHO

I wouldn't be surprised if thats where MB is gradually heading. The next-gen will probably have a larger slice of fixed glass, then after that, you've got a big, fat pillar in the middle. All because they dont want to spend the $50,000 to re-engineer it.

[Intrepidation]

[Sixty8panther]

I wouldn't be surprised if thats where MB is gradually heading. The next-gen will probably have a larger slice of fixed glass, then after that, you've got a big, fat pillar in the middle. All because they dont want to spend the $50,000 to re-engineer it.

Maybe, time will tell. It's too bad though.

Used to be, well before I was born, that the

people in charge of these things; car design

for one, were passionate, creative & they

would fight to inject art, beauty, style &

creativity into products. Bill Mitchell with his

split window Corvette is a great example of

this. Many on this forum would have gotten

their "Manginas" all in a knot over the issue.

All the while discussing the quality of rubber

used on the brake-pedal pad in a 23 page

thread.

At this rate of Apathetic consumerism &

blatant suffocation of anything 'daring' by the

safety nazis & communists, we REALLY will be

issued an approved, regulated & Orwellian car

by the governemnt in a couple decades.

It disgusts me. The world has gone braindead.

[Sixty8panther]

P.S. Why the flippin' hell do you NEED stitching on your dash???

I think all you interior obsessed are $#%!&^ crazy.

(I know it's a 2 way street)

[Intrepidation]

P.S. Why the flippin' hell do you NEED stitching on your dash???

I think all you interior obsessed are $#%!&^ crazy.

(I know it's a 2 way street)

You don't, but it's a symbol of luxury and this is a luxury car. Also it's a bit embarrassing that you can get it on a pickup truck, which is not a luxury vehicle.

With that in mind, B-pillar be damned, I would much rather have the CTS coupe..it's a far better looking car inside and out, IMO.

[Sixty8panther]

To me, if it's going to be a hardtop ALL OF THE GLASS SHOULD ROLL DOWN. Otherwise it defeats the purpose and might as well have a pillar, IMHO

We've talked about this before,

but it was off the forum so let

me jump in for a min.

First off, in the 1950s and 1960s

almost EVERYONE smoked. Your

mom, dad, grandma... there was

probanbly a cigarette in your

doctor's mouth while he checked

your pulse...

So the vent windows that you

complain about are NOT there

because someone was lazy and

glued them in. Actually, quite

the opposite, they were designed

in so they could be tilted open

during severely cold weatehr, or a

massive blizzard, rainshower etc.

so as to provide slight ventilation

for the driver/smoker.

Would it be cool if you could get a

vent-window-delete '59 Eldorado?

SURE, does the vent window ruin

the fact that from the A-pillar/vent

window all the way back to the

base of the sweeping C-pillar there

are ZERO interuptions in what is

essentially a panoramic window, an

open expanse of frech air, visibility

& style...? NO. The Vent window is

an intergrated part of the A-pillar

itself, it's FUNCTIONAL.

What the F&$# is functional about

glued in glass... weather it be the

mini-triangle in a Yaris, the rear

side window in the CTS-Coupe or

5-th gen. Camaro OR this Mercedes'

goofy little folded-business-card

sized slice that was glued in?

-----

Now let's take a look at a great example:

The 1967 Camaro had vent-windows.

The 1968 Camaro did away with them,

it was just one example of GM trying to

differentiate the Camaro from the

cheaper, less unique & less progressive

Mustang & Cougar.

Now while I enjoy the 1968's (& 1969s)

greenhouse more due to the lack of ANY

interuption from the A-pillar all the way

right up to the C-pillar, the 1967's vent

window does not ruin it so much that I'd

throw a hissy fit and say

"f&*k it all, why even bother...?!"

It IS still a hardtop, there's NO frames

on the door-glass & the rear window,

every last transpoarent inch of it, rolls

down and hides just ahead of the rear

wheels.

Judge for yourself.

1967

1968

[Intrepidation]

Well you proved my point for me...the `68 looks far better without the vent windows.

Even so, the vent windows still pivoted, the E-Class coupe's is a fixed, glued in window...you know that very type of thing you complain about so much.

[Sixty8panther]

So long as we're on the same page.

Now as far as your dad's two 'Cudas, the '67 has

the dreaded vent-window so I'll be happy to, err

... dropp it off ....at the nearest junkyard for you,

if you would be so kind as to sign it over to me &

umm.... well yeah I'll take care of it, don't worry.

Seriously I'd much rather have a '67 than a '70,

it's way more original looking & a kind of cool

"quirky" like most mid-1960s Mopars.

Now if you wanna see what IS _epic fail as far as

ALMOST-hardtops go, look no further than late

1970s Japanese coupes:

Here's a Mitsubiushi you might have

seen on here since I've posted these

things a time or two:

This IS a true hardtop, and it's a Datsun I'd

buy just to be able to tell people I own a

"clown car", look at it, it's as goofy as hell.

Here's what replaced it... the freekin thing

has a D-pillar for krisssake and it's

supposed to be a hatchback!

For the record, prior to those hose-beasts the

Japanese had a couple really stylish little

"min-musclecar" looking hardtops, here's one

of my favorites:

RX-4. Yes it had a wenkel. I have a rusty rotor

out of one of these in my "random car junk"

collection, it was hanging up in the old barn,

you prob. saw it a few times.

[Satty]

Congratulations 68

[SAmadei]

This IS a true hardtop, and it's a Datsun I'd

buy just to be able to tell people I own a

"clown car", look at it, it's as goofy as hell.

Those SX's were weird. I had a years ago a repeat customer had one, and I used to help load it. It was weirder on the inside. Like driving a space ship.

Sometimes, I thing they were trying to out-weird the Matador coupe.

For the record, prior to those hose-beasts the

Japanese had a couple really stylish little

"min-musclecar" looking hardtops, here's one

Current automotive style is so bland that the early imports are starting to look good to me, with that mini-musclecar styling. And quite a few of them are RWD. Course, I'll never fit in one, so I'll never have one.

[Intrepidation]

Congratulations 68

Where do you find this stuff?

[Nick]

Where do you find this stuff?

Older than the internet, but an explanation may clear things up...

I remember this from back in my psychology course days, but I believe they took that monkey when it was born and placed it in an area with two "mother" lookalikes. One was warm and furry and "comforting", and the other dispensed food and water. Basically, the monkey grew much more attached to the "comfort" monkey than the "provider" monkey.

Something like that anyway...

[Intrepidation]

Yes I remember the experiment from psychology courses I took. I just wanted to know where on the internets he finds them.

[Satty]

Older than the internet, but an explanation may clear things up...

I remember this from back in my psychology course days, but I believe they took that monkey when it was born and placed it in an area with two "mother" lookalikes. One was warm and furry and "comforting", and the other dispensed food and water. Basically, the monkey grew much more attached to the "comfort" monkey than the "provider" monkey.

Something like that anyway...

Yeah, the pic is an old Psych 101 thing.

[Satty]

I think that one came from my old days trolling BON. This one came from those days as well, but if I used it everytime it applied to 68, you people would get tired of it really fast.

[ocnblu]

Looking at the cover of the current issue of A/W magazine, with a white example of this car, I cannot help but think of the stark, technical design of the first-gen CTS and the subsequent STS, especially from the front 3/4 angle. It is not a warm design. There is a giant slab of sheetmetal (to paraphrase turbo200 in his critique of the CTS coupe) between the rear wheel arch and the beltline. The rear 3/4 view is better, but still not great. The darker color brings out the hockey stick line at the quarter panel, which appears to be an attempt to remedy that high beltline problem. The tiny quarter window reminds me of the '49 Ford, just as moltar said, it does look like a 4-door greenhouse on a 2-door car. I do appreciate their continued pillarless hardtop coupe configuration, but this is not an elegant solution. Unfortunate.

I am a fan of the minimalist German car dashes of the early 90's and prior. BMW was the first to return to that aesthetic. I like most current BMW dashes without NAV and without I-drive. Mercedes' take on the retro dash theme is less successful than BMW's, imo. It does look cheap... which is different than minimalist. That steering wheel is 80's Hyundai cheap looking.