Mercedes-Benz CLC200 News

The compact two-door is closing on production and is pictured during winter testing in Europe.  It shares the front-end update work of the new Benz four-door but takes a new direction behind the doors.Carparazzi reports that the hatchback tail of the existing CLC is gone and the new car is a more traditional coupe. The centre section of the car - including the roof, doors and windows is all new and unique.It's not as radical as the rework of the E-Class Coupe, which is now very different from the sedan and four-door SLS, but intended to give the car a more upmarket look. It will also provide more cabin space, one of the complaints about the outgoing CLC.Carparazzi says the European pricing of the C-Class Coupe is expected to undercut the four-door sedan, although there is no confirmation from Mercedes-Benz Australia of any details.Meantime, the updating work on the C-Class sedan will be confirmed next week at the opening of the Detroit motor show in the USA ahead of full-scale sales. The car is expected in Australia in the second half of 2011.

In fact, they’re encouraging people to go their hardest at it, with the top times every month until October winning the chance to drive some AMG Mercs for real. While the CLC-Class coupe won’t arrive here for a couple of weeks, downloading the driving game at www.CLCdreamtestdrive.com offers the chance to have a bit of fun with it, customising the top-spec CLC 350 Sport — and then thrashing the daylights out of it. But the downside for us is that the competition is open only to UK residents. This is also the closest we’ll get to the CLC 350, as only the CLC 200 variants are on their way to Australia. The cars will be priced from $49,900 for the entry level CLC 200 Kompressor, with the Evolution version costing $53,900 and the Evolution Plus costing $58.990. All will carry the same 1.8-litre engine developing 135kW of power at 5500rpm and 250Nm of torque between 2800-5000rpm, mated with a five-speed automatic transmission.