Stuttgart's favorite son has been recently spied testing a heavily camouflaged C-Class EV at the Nurburgring and on the public roads adjacent to the world's best-known circuit. Equipped with mismatched wheels featuring summer tires from the folks at Michelin, the prototype dons makeshift rear lights and canards on the front bumper.
In other words, the D-segment sedan features the AMG treatment. Look even closer, and you'll notice front brake calipers in copper gold. This color is associated with AMG's carbon-ceramic brakes, but weirdly enough, this finish doesn't carry over to the rear calipers. The prototype further shows pop-out door handles and a charging port door on the rear passenger-side quarter panel.
Muscular side skirts are on the menu as well, as are door-mounted side mirrors. This is one of many differences over the combustion-engined 206 series, which – as you're well aware – comes with four-cylinder turbo powertrains exclusively. There is no V6, I6, or V8 to speak of, which turned plenty of prospective customers to Audi and BMW.
The current-gen A4 is topped by a high-performance V6 with a displacement of 2.9 liters, while BMW's most performance-oriented 3er flaunts a straight-six with 3.0 liters to its name. However, electric assistance helps the C 63 S E Performance develop quite a bit more power and torque than the RS 4 and M3, the numbers being 671 horsepower and 752 pound-feet (1,020 Nm).
Believed to be a 53-series model, the AMG-ified sedan captured by the carparazzi further shows a panoramic glass roof and a provisional third brake light rather than the production-intent part. Many things are going to change until the latter half of 2025 for model year 2026, which is when the zero-emission sedan is expected to enter production.
Photo: Baldauf
The platform underpinning the first-ever C-Class EV is thought to be the MMA, although the rumor mill also suggests the MB.EA Small. It should be noted that MMA was designed for truly compact compacts, as in CLA and every other front-biased compact that Mercedes produces nowadays. The MB.EA Small, therefore, seems more like it.
The MB.EA Small will be joined by the MB.EA Large. With time, said platforms will replace the hugely disappointing EVA of the EQS and EQE. In addition to the complete electrification of core models such as the CLA and C-Class, the recently introduced G 580 with EQ Technology also signals the impending demise of the EQ sub-brand.
More conventionally styled than the EQS and EQE, the C-Class EV will be joined by the GLC EV. The D-segment crossover is understood to enter series production at Merc's Tuscaloosa plant in the United States in early 2026, most likely for the 2026 model year as well. To make room for the GLC EV, the automaker will allegedly move EQS SUV production to the Bremen plant in Germany.
Being an AMG, the C 53 EV – or whatever it will be called – should be rocking two electric drive units. The only competitor that matters in this segment is the Tesla Model 3 Performance, whose dual-motor setup is rated at 510 horsepower. Also good for 2.9 seconds to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) and 163 mph (262 kph) at full chatter, the M3P promises 303 miles (488 kilometers) of range in the United States or 528 kilometers (328 miles) in Europe.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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