Remember we told you recently about a new halfway-house AMG performance line of cars that would bridge the gap between normal Mercedes-Benz products and the full-on Affalterbach monsters? Well, we're seeing the first fruits of that labour, with this - the C 450 AMG 4Matic, revealed at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit today (January 12, 2015).
Exterior
Available as either a saloon or estate, the C 450 fits between the C 300 BlueTec Hybrid and the forthcoming Mercedes-AMG C 63. To mark it out as something special, it gets large air ducts at the front, a revised grille, black exterior mirror caps and burnished chrome quad tailpipes. Both body styles also come with subtle rear spoilers.
Mechanicals
The C 450 is powered by a twin-turbocharged 90-degree V6 petrol engine, making 367hp at 5,500rpm and 518Nm of torque from 2,000- to 4,200rpm. It puts power to all four wheels (the 4Matic in its name is a giveaway) via a 7G-Tronic seven-speed auto that has software mapping taken from the AMG SpeedShift gearbox. All told, the C 450 can tick off 0-100km/h in just 4.9 seconds (5.0 for the estate) and it is of course limited to 250km/h. There's one area in which it will comfortably beat the C 63 though - fuel consumption is a quoted 7.6 litres/100km (37.2mpg) and CO2 emissions are pegged at 178g/km.
While Mercedes would only say the C 450's V6 has 'added boost pressure' to achieve its outputs (among other updates, yet to be outlined), the company is happy to confirm that the chassis of the new car has been overhauled from the normal C-Class to make it sportier. Adjustable dampers, firmer springs and a host of other suspension componentry upgrades team with a 4Matic system that is biased 33/67 per cent in favour of the rear axle, as well as ESP stability control that is recalibrated accordingly. The C 450 has 18-inch wheels with wide tyres as standard and ventilated steel brake discs that are 360mm/320mm front/rear.
Anything else?
Think of the C 450 as a rival to an Audi S4 or BMW 335i M Sport, rather than a full-fat AMG. Mind you, the C 450's performance stats are pretty impressive, all the same. No word on Irish pricing as yet.
Further reading