Mercedes-AMG C 43 Coupe coming to Oz

The high-performance arm of German prestige car-maker Mercedes-Benz has today confirmed its latest model, the Mercedes-AMG C 43 4MATIC Coupe, will debut at next month's Geneva motor show before arriving in Australia during the fourth quarter of this year.

Offered exclusively as an all-wheel drive model powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 pumping out roughly 270kW and 520Nm, AMG's newest coupe will be offered here alongside its C 43 4MATIC sedan – essentially a re-badged version of the C 450 AMG 4MATIC sedan previously confirmed for Australia.

This has led to speculation that Mercedes will axe its fledgling AMG Sport brand – which as a direct rival for Audi's S and BMW's M Performance sub-brands is charged with considerably expanding AMG sales and was first seen here with the GLE 450 AMG 4MATIC – but motoring.com.au understands this is not the case.

While 450 4MATIC AMG Sport models including the C-Class and E-Class will be rebadged as C 43 and E 43 4MATIC, small models will continue to be marketed under the AMG Sport name, including the A 250 Sport and CLA 250 Sport.

Australia's first AMG Sport model, the GLE 450 4MATIC, will also continue to be badged as such for the foreseeable future, but eventually we expect the AMG Sport brand to comprise only cosmetically enhanced models.

These would be direct rivals for Audi's S Line sub-brand, while the two-tier AMG 43 and 63 models will go head to head with S and RS models from Audi and BMW's M and M Performance models.

The reason for ditching the 450 AMG nameplates in favour of the reintroduced AMG '43' moniker is that Mercedes-AMG wants to create a closer – and more obvious – link with its mighty twin-turbo V8-powered '63' models.

Jerry Stamoulis, Mercedes-Benz Australia's Manager for PR and Product Communications, wouldn't be drawn on the future of the AMG Sport sub-brand, but told motoring.com.au: "Over the next few years the AMG strategy will become clear, but as of now we have nothing else to announce except the SLC 43 and C 43."

Arriving in the third quarter of 2016 in Australia will be the Mercedes-Benz SLC 43, the first model of the modern era to wear to the 43 badge in Australia, followed by the Mercedes-AMG C 43 sedan and coupe.

It's not yet clear if the twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 will be carried over from AMG 450 models, or whether the newly named 43 models will come with upgraded nine-speed automatic transmissions, revised all-wheel drive systems or chassis tweaks.

We'll do our best to find out in Geneva.