Mercedes-AMG C 43 fires in from $101,900

Mercedes-Benz has announced pricing and specification for the newest members of the C-Class performance family, the AMG C 43 Sedan, Estate and Coupé.

Created to rival the BMW M Performance and Audi S line, the new range will fill the gap between the regular Mercedes range and AMG’s balls-busting high-performance C 63 variants. The C43 nameplate is the Mercedes-AMG’s new nomenclature after the AMG Sport badge was dropped shortly after its introduction last year.

Designed to bring sports car technology and motor racing flair to a more attainable and broader customer base, the AMG C 43 range starts at $101,900 for the sedan, with the coupe topping the line-up at $105,615. The C 43 Estate slots in the middle from $104,400. All stickers exclude on-road costs.

The C 43 range gets a sporty front fascia with a diamond radiator grille and large air intakes. There’s also black mirror caps, matte iridium silver accents and a sports exhaust system, while a boot lid spoiler (coupe and sedan), rear diffuser and 19-inch lightweight alloy wheels round out the aesthetic front.

Inside, the interior remains largely unchanged, except for a flat-bottom steering wheel and microfiber upholstered sports seats with red contrast stitching. The sporty highlights continue with red seat belts, a revised instrument cluster with checkered flag motif and lashings of aluminium trim.

Powering the C 43 is the new 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine that is part of the company’s BlueDIRECT engine family. Technical advances including a modified boost pressure allowed the AMG engineers to increase the engine’s power output and torque as well as its dynamism and flexibility to typical AMG levels.

The biturbo V6 generates 270kW of power and 520Nm of torque. Power is sent to the road via an AMG-spec’ed nine-speed automatic transmission and a rear-biased 4MATIC all-wheel drive system. The setup is claimed to enable the car to blast from 0 to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds, en route to a limited top speed of 250km/h.

Mercedes claims that the transmission’s multiple downshifts allows even faster short bursts of speed, while the double-declutching function in the “Sport” and “Sport Plus” transmission modes makes for an even more emotive driving experience.

Arriving as standard across all C 43 models are a head-up display, AMG Night Package, AMG 19-inch wheels, AMG RIDE-CONTROL sports suspension, sports exhaust system, LED Intelligent Light System, panoramic glass sliding sunroof, Burmester surround sound system and COMAND Online Navigation and Infotainment. In addition, the Mercedes-AMG C 43 Coupe also arrives with heated front seats as standard.

On the safety front, the C 43 range comes fitted with 9 airbags, Collision Prevention Assist Plus with semi-autonomous braking, Driver Assistance Package Plus, Active Lane Keeping, Blindspot Assist, Pre-Safe, Attention Assist, an Active Bonnet, a 360 degree camera and a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System.

The new Mercedes-AMG C 43 models are now available to order with the first arrivals scheduled for October 2016.

Mercedes-AMG C 43 Australian pricing (excluding on-roads)

AMG C 43 Sedan: $101,900
AMG C 43 Estate: $104,400
AMG C 43 Coupé: $105,615