The local market debut of the Mercedes-Benz W176 A-Class is still around six months away, but the first third-generation example has already been spotted in town. Reader Brandon Chua saw this white A 250 Sport on a transporter near the Menara TM, which is where the Mercedes-Benz Malaysia office is located. The unit is likely an evaluation and training sample.
UPDATE: The Mercedes-Benz A-Class has been officially launched in Malaysia. Read our launch report and view the pics here.
The Eurosport beauty contest winner is due to arrive in both A 250 Sport (in case you’re wondering what gave the spied car away, it’s the single bar grille) and A 200 forms; at least that’s the indication MBM gave during the international media drive for it last year.
The Mercedes-Benz A 250 Sport wears a M270 DE 20 2.0 litre turbocharged mill offering 208 hp at 5,500 rpm and 350 Nm at 1,200 to 4,000 rpm, with performance figures including a 0-100 km/h time of 6.6 seconds and a 240 km/h top speed. Plenty fast, in use.
As for the A 200 BlueEfficiency, that one gets the Camtronic-equipped 1.6 litre M 270 DE 16 AL turbo unit in its higher 154 hp at 5,000 rpm and 250 Nm at 1,250 to 4,000 rpm state of tune. Camtronic is a load management system with an earlier intake cut-off and intake valve lift adjustment, a first in a turbocharged direct-injection engine. Expect to see more of the A-Class as the countdown to its arrival begins.
