Cabrio mania at Mercedes

As sales strategies go, Mercedes-Benz Australia’s sudden plethora of soft-top four-seat cabriolets could also make for the basis of an interesting anthropological study.

In one corner of the showroom is the E-Class cab. It’s a prestigious badge attached to an ageing car, that is actually less E-Class than C-Class under the sheetmetal.

And not far away on the dealer floor from November will be the new C-Class Cabriolet. It’s the first C-Class drop-top, if not the first to be based on those mechanicals (refer above).

The new cabrio is the fourth and final model in the latest C-Class generation line-up and in terms of price will sit above its sedan, estate and coupe relations.

In fact, the pricing spread for the four models to be sold in Australia will drop pretty much over the top of the three E-Class models on offer.

So older and more prestigious, or younger, newer and more advanced? Who will be swayed by what and why? MBA doesn’t have much doubt what will happen and when.

“We don’t have high expectations for the E-Class Cabriolet over the next 12 months,” spokesman Jerry Stamoulis admitted to motoring.com.au during this week’s international launch of the C-Class cabrio in Trieste, Italy.

Beyond that the game will change again when a new E-Class Cabriolet appears, this time really based on the sedan it is named after. It will no doubt be larger, better equipped and more expensive.

“We have got E-Class cabrio and that’s positioned more at an older customer who maybe prefers more luxury and comfort,” said Stamoulis.

“C-Class Cabriolet will be positioned towards more of a sportier driver. We have done the same thing with both coupe and cabriolet, offering them standard with AMG Line. So it will arrive heavily specified in our market.”

Beyond its own showroom the C-Class will face the ageing but sexy Audi A5 Cabriolet, the recently updated and price-reduced BMW 4 Series Convertible and the forthcoming and interesting Range Rover Evoque drop-top.

Benz launches four C-Class Cabriolets in November. Two of them, the 200 and 300, are mainstream models with 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engines in different states of tune. The other two are Mercedes-AMGs; the 3.0-litre biturbo V6 C 43 4MATIC and the stonking 4.0-litre biturbo V8 C 63 S.

The C-Class coupe and cabriolet were developed together, which is how it often happens in the auto industry, and Benz says the substance of the equipment offering will be the same across both models.

Of course there will be differences and they will make the cabrio the most expensive C-class with a $500-$10,000 premium over equivalent coupes.

Most obvious changes compared to the coupe include the higher-spec acoustic fabric roof, the turbulence-reducing Aircap for all models and the neck-warming Airscarf -- which the 200 misses out on as standard. The fully powered roof opens and closes in 20 seconds (there are faster roofs out there) at speeds up to 50km/h.

The coupe and cabrio also share the AMG Line specification, which means things like a minimum 18-inch wheel size and a lowered and sportier suspension set-up, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, sports pedals and a specific body-kit including a diamond grille.

Cabrio safety equipment will include seven airbags, a reversing camera, an active bonnet and collision prevention assist. But the 200 misses out on the full Driver Assistance package, which kicks in at 300 level. Comfort equipment minimums will include leather upholstery (artificial in the 200), sat-nav, Dynamic Select driving mode selector, keyless start, auto stop-start, dual-zone climate-control with roof-down auto adjustment, LED headlights and the expected connectivity options.

Only the 63 misses out on the new nine-speed auto, sticking with the AMG seven-speeder. Power and torque and claimed combined fuel consumption and CO2 emissions across the four cars are 135kW/300Nm and 6.6L/100km (150g/km) for the 200; 180kW/370Nm and 7.1L/100km (161g/km) for the 300; 270kW/520Nm and 8.4L/100km (194g/km) for the 43; 375kW/700Nm and 9.3L/100km (218g/km) for the 63 S.

Acceleration times for 0-100km/h sprint vary from as slow as 7.8 secs for the 200 to 4.1 secs for the 63 S. That latter effort is 0.2 slower than the coupe, reflecting the extra 120kg (approx) in kerb weight across the cabrio range, something primarily brought about by extra underbody reinforcing prompted by the missing roof.

Benz isn’t naming torsional rigidity numbers, but nor does it dispute the cabrio has lost some strength.

As per other C-Class variants, a lower-output 63 is also offered with the cabrio, but will not come to Australia. As well as an extra 25kW and 50Nm, the S also gets dynamic engine mounts and an electric rear limited-slip differential. Ride Control adaptive damping is standard on the AMGs while Airmatic air suspension will be optional with the 200 and 300.

For the full rundown on C 63 tech check out Michael Taylor’s New York show report here.

Our rundown of the mainstream C-cab range after their Geneva unveil is here.

As well as the drop-top C 43, Benz will also launch the biturbo V6 all-wheel drive versions of the sedan, wagon and coupe in November.

Benz expects the 300 and C 43 to initially be the two most popular cabriolet models.