Mercedes E-Class cabrio drops its top

If this passes as a disguise Mercedes-Benz probably shouldn’t get into the undercover cop business any time soon

The convertible version of the sleek new Mercedes E-Class coupe model has broken cover wearing virtually nothing but a bit of black tape on its, er, headlights.

The E Class cabriolet is due on sale in Australia between April and June 2010 and will likely mirror engine-for-engine the E-Class coupe range that went on sale locally a few months ago.

Mercedes-Benz Australia is yet to confirm the model line-up but the Carsales Network understands that initially there will be a choice of two diesel engines and two petrol engines.

That means the diesel E-Class cabrio will be the first diesel drop top Mercedes has sold locally.

The engines most likely to make the list are: 3.5-litre V6 petrol (E350) and 5.5-litre (E500) V8 petrol, and 2.1-litre twin turbo diesel (E250CDI) and a 3.0-litre single turbo diesel (E350CDI).

Possible at a later date is direct injection 1.8-litre twin turbo four-cylinder petrol powerplant that runs on regular unleaded -- not natural gas -- despite its E250CGI badge.

As with the previous model, the drop top will come at a price premium on the coupe; approximately $10,000 to $15,000 more than the fixed roof model.

Because of our harsh climate, the E-Class cabriolet is not a huge seller in Australia -- accounting for fewer than 1000 sales annually.

However, some Mercedes customers are clearly keen to get behind the wheel of the new model; the maker reports a handful of deposits for the new car "sight unseen".

Perhaps Mercedes will take a few more orders now that the car has been unveiled, albeit unofficially.

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