Merecedes-Benz! They’re doing all kinds of nutty stuff these days, like making insane-looking hatchbacks and pickup trucks. In a bid to beat BMW as the world’s top-selling luxury automaker in five years they’re expanding into all sorts of segments, and according to one report, they may even make a competitor to the Audi TT coupe and roadster.
Automotive News cites German magazine Auto Motor und Sport as saying Mercedes is considering launching a sports coupe to rival the TT on the next-gen MFA front- and all-wheel drive platform, the one that underpins the CLA, GLA and A-Class. It could be styled to look like a baby AMG GT, which I’m not opposed to at all. (The company called the report “speculation” and didn’t comment further, which is par for the course for these things.)
I’m actually excited about that possibility. I drove the CLA45 AMG last year and walked away thinking the best part of it was its 2.0-liter turbocharged-to-hell-and-back 355 horsepower four-banger. The rest of it was just... kind of okay, especially when it came to the interior and handling.
That insane four-cylinder engine is begging for a proper small sports car application. While I’d like to see it in a rear-wheel drive car, I’d settle for a small coupe or roadster with less weight and more sporting pretensions than the sedan, hatchback and crossovers it sees duty in now. And come on — the small SLK roadster hasn’t been relevant in a long time. (When I wrote this post I had to look up whether they still make it or not.)
AN’s report also says Mercedes is planning a competitor to the Porsche Panamera, which would be based on the E-Class platform but somehow also different than just a sporty E-Class. I don’t know they’d make it different from an E63 AMG or whatever, but the idea’s intriguing.
At any rate, I want to see Mercedes’ crazy little turbo motor in more cars, especially sporting ones.