SPYSHOTS: W206 Mercedes-Benz C-Class strips camo

The next-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class will likely be unveiled sooner rather than later and these spyshots show that the W206 is almost ready for its reveal. The prototype you see here is practically finished on the outside and only carries camouflage on the front and back.

Most evident in the photos is how similar the proportions and basic silhouette will be to the current model. As on the latest S-Class, the shoulder line has been minimised and moved further up to the window line, although the smaller model won’t get the cool retractable door handles of its larger sibling. We can also see that the bonnet of this Avantgarde model has twin bumps that are no longer limited to AMG models.

Of course, we’ve already seen the entire front end thanks to an earlier leak, showing a face that takes after the S-Class and the facelifted E-Class. There’s a much wider six-point grille, trapezoidal headlights and a bone-shaped full-width air intake above a centre inlet. Meanwhile, the rear end is expected to come with triangular taillights that were first seen on the CLS, albeit with the number plate recess on the boot lid.

Past spyshots have shown that the interior will also be very different compared to the current W205. Like the S-Class, there will be a freestanding instrument display and an infotainment touchscreen on a waterfall-like centre console, with air vents placed on top of the dashboard. The C-Class will get discrete climate controls, however, although it remains to be seen if a larger portrait touchscreen (which should integrate the climate controls if it were offered) will be available as an option.

In an interview with Australia’s CarsGuide, Mercedes boss Ola Källenius said that the C-Class will be a “small S-Class”, so it should get much (if not all) of the new features. This will likely include the latest driver assistance systems, with Level 3 semi-autonomous driving already promised for the S-Class in the second half of 2021. The new augmented reality head-up display and 3D instrument display could also appear.

As for the engines, expect the C-Class to be offered with a full four-cylinder lineup for the first time. Not only should it get the W213 facelift‘s new M254 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine and a similarly-sized OM654 turbodiesel (both with a 48-volt mild hybrid system), but even the full-fat AMG C 63 will be a four-pot instead of a V8, making do with the A 45’s M139 2.0 litre mill augmented by hybrid technology.

We should be less than a year away from the W206’s introduction – Källenius said that the new C-Class’ introduction will be nine months behind the S-Class’, which would put it somewhere in June. Check out the renders by resident Photoshop wizard Theophilus Chin to see what the car will look like.

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