Thursday 19th April 2012

Mercedes CSC Beijing concept unveiled

Dramatic-looking 'junior CLS' previews forthcoming small coupe/saloon

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This sleek saloon is the new Mercedes CSC (Concept Style Coupe), which Merc is due to unveil at the Beijing show next week.

Described by Mercedes as 'a convincing statement in favour of avantgarde design among sporty executive coupes', the CSC is a move into the premium C-segment for the CLS-style four-door coupe idea, and is expected to inspire a junior saloon called the CLA.

That car will, when it goes on sale next year, will be part of the vanguard for a whole new niche of A3/A-Class/1 Series vehicles, alongside a saloon version of the new Audi A3 and (we hear whispers) a possible four-door version of the BMW 1 Series.

Like the new A-class, the CSC concept gets dramatic, swoopy looks inside and out and, since the production car it spawns will be based on the same platform as the 'A', the concept also gets its engine and running gear from that direction, with a 211hp turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, all-wheel drive and the new 7G-DCT twin-clutch gearbox.

[forzaminardi]

Its a convoncing statement in beaky noses, that's for sure.

[GroundEffect]

Yeah, that's not manufacturable...

[Stu R]

Bodywork is far too fussy, looks like it needs an iron running over it. Other than that and the foul wheels, it'll probably look quite nice once it's been sanitised a little for production.

[needham]

Smooth out the creases down the side, and put some nice wheels on it instead of the dreadful things in the photo, and it'll be very nice.

[stuckmojo]

the real story here is Mercedes moving to FWD. Shame.

[jbforce10]

Spiral wheels, I've never been a fan. From the 80's XR3i to the 911 (993/996?) they always spoil a car.

[MrGeoff]

stuckmojo said:

the real story here is Mercedes moving to FWD. Shame.

Am I missing something? The article states AWD.

[Or888t]

MrGeoff said:

stuckmojo said:

the real story here is Mercedes moving to FWD. Shame.

Am I missing something? The article states AWD.

The styling loks very FWD oriantated i'd say, but the artcial does say it's AWD, interesting to see how this progresses...

[stuckmojo]

MrGeoff said:

Am I missing something? The article states AWD.

That's for the top-end spicy version. The cooking ones will obviously be FWD. That's goodbye to the C class as we know it.

[S2000Etype]

Front: nice, Rear: fat saggy arse, Side: banana, banana. AWD? Read Jag X type excuse to go FWD later on. And I thought Toyota had finally made everyone realise RWD is always best for driving enjoyment even if we do lose some interior space (Don't mention the handling in snow)

[jason s4]

Not keen on the wheels, and the back is "interesting", however, i like that.

[Riggers]

stuckmojo said:

MrGeoff said:

Am I missing something? The article states AWD.

That's for the top-end spicy version. The cooking ones will obviously be FWD. That's goodbye to the C class as we know it.

It's not a replacement for the C-class, though - it's a step below that. Will be effectively the saloon version of the new A-class. Which has been a front-drive car for 15 years....

[JohnGoodridge]

Probably missing the point, but will only really be looking forward to the AMG'd version...

[thewheelman]

Some of the styling from the rear shots have a touch of Peugeot about them.

[F1GTRUeno]

Yet another niche car that noone asked for from Mercedes.

Yet another ugly car from Mercedes.

[markeym3]

Hey guys i did the bodywork / paintwork on this car , there are two of these identical , nice in the flesh but not my cuppa ,, cheers

[kambites]

I quite like most of it but it wont look like that if it ever gets produced, and I wish they'd stop calling these saloons "coupes".

[Tarico]

Regarding the "whispered possible four-door version of the BMW 1 Series", I assumed this is not a reference to the existing 4-door hatch.

Can anyone elaborate on whether this is a 4-door version of the future "2-series" coupe, or actually a reference to the spied 1-series GT, which is supposedly a FWD people carrier thing?

[Gorbyrev]

Better looking than the current CLS which falls into that category of cars that are superceded by an inferior styling "update". But will MB actually build it?

[dlockhart]

thewheelman said:

Some of the styling from the rear shots have a touch of Peugeot about them.

and a touch of Volvo at the front