Mercedes-Benz defends slashing its sports car range

Mercedes-Benz is embarking on a new strategy to condense its coupe and convertible range, the number of models in which will soon shrink from eight to just three distinct two-door sports cars.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe and Cabriolet were axed after just one generation and essentially replaced by the new Mercedes-AMG SL, and soon the E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet (also one-hit wonders) and the C-Class Coupe and Cabriolet will also be terminated.

The latter two style-focussed mid-size luxury sports cars look set to be replaced by the all-new, ‘one-size-fits-all’ Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe, digitally previewed here in AMG 63 S guise by 3D modeler 2NCS.

Excluding four-door ‘coupes’ like the CLA, CLS and GT sedans, the GLC and GLE SUVs and the discontinued SLC, that will leave the CLE as Merc’s most affordable two-door, accompanied by only the top-end AMG GT Coupe and SL Roadster, which will replace the GT Roadster.

The CLE will be a spiritual successor to previous mid-size Mercedes coupes like the CLK, making it a direct rival for the BMW 4 Series and Audi A5, and a convertible version is expected to follow the hard-top, replacing both the C-Class Coupe and Cabriolet.

Although the German luxury car brand is yet to officially confirm the worst-kept secret in its short-term product strategy – the existence of the new CLE Coupe – senior execs have given the strongest indication yet that the car-maker’s two-door models are an endangered species.

Following recent spy shots of the new Mercedes-Benz CLE in Germany, we quizzed the vice-president of global vehicle development at Mercedes-Benz, Joerg Bartels, over the new coupe’s impending arrival and the ramifications for its two-door portfolio.

“I can’t talk about our future product strategy but what I can answer is that we will have convertibles and coupes in the future which are very attractive,” he stated.

Nevertheless, it’s clear the European prestige car brand has not been happy with the performance of its two-door coupes and convertibles, with Mercedes-Benz global product communications boss, Koert Groeneveld, telling carsales: “Basically we’re not adding more and more cars, we want to consolidate a little bit.”

That’s code for something like “yes the CLE will replace the E-Class and C-Class coupes and convertibles, and the S-Class two-doors were expensive experiment”.

The design of the new Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe is yet to be seen by outsiders due to the high level of camouflage on the prototypes spied. But as Bartels insisted the three-pointed star brand’s chief designer Gorden Wagener is up to the task of delivering compelling aesthetics.

“Gorden is doing a good job,” he said, before quickly bringing the conversation back to reducing the number of combustion-powered models in its range ahead of the car-maker’s switch to EVs by 2030.

“Of course, those types of cars don’t, let’s say, work across the world – it’s a small portion of sales,” said Bartels of two-door models.

Which begs the question: are coupes and convertibles even necessary anymore?

“Well, you don’t need them, but some customers want them,” he said.

“It will not have the same [sales] numbers of a GLC, for example, but as part of our product portfolio they are something we like to continue offering.”

The all-new CLE-Class is set to inhabit an area between its predecessors and sources suggest it will ride on the same MRA-2 platform that underpins the new C-Class.

Little else is known about the CLE, such as what sort of powertrains it will get, but it’s safe to assume it will adopt the C-Class engine line-up (so far limited to just C 200 and C 300 variants in Australia) and that high-end AMG 43 and 63 variants will eventually become part of the product offering.

As such, expect to see a Mercedes-AMG CLE 63 packing a 2.0-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain worth more than 520kW, as per the C 63 S super sedan.

Sources in Europe say the Mercedes-Benz CLE will break cover by year’s end, but it’s clear that Mercedes is not looking to expand its stable of combustion-powered two-door sports cars beyond that.