Pure (E) Class from Benz

These are the best shots yet of the new Mercedes Benz E-Class Coupe that is due for launch later this year. Caught virtually undisguised these spy shots show the new two-door looking production ready with March's Geneva Motor Show the most likely location for its official unveiling.

As previously reported (see here) Mercedes will dump the C-Class based CLK Coupe for the larger E-Class model.

Mercedes Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy confirms that the E-Class Coupe was headed our way shortly after the mid-year arrival of the E-Class sedan but couldn't reveal the exact timing.

"We're trying to keep them as close as possible but we haven't got our production schedules yet," McCarthy says

The new coupe is clearly all E-Class in origin, from the rakish new front end to the waistline and sweeping rear wheel arch body creases. Compared with the new E-Class sedan, the pillarless coupe gets more curvaceous at the back, with a slim C-pillar and a tiny third fixed side window that should allow the back window to wind down out of sight.

By upsizing to the E-Class platform Mercedes has been able to make the new Coupe a true 2+2 seater, something that the company is hoping will make it more appealing in a wider market.

"There are traditional buyers and there are new buyers," McCarthy says. "The more appealing you make the car the more people you attract. The fact that it's a true four-seater will bring more buyers to it."

In keeping with the E-Class sedan, engines are expected to be shared with the C-Class range and McCarthy confirmed a diesel coupe was a high priority.

"It will be interesting to see how that goes," he says. "There's definitely a demand for it. Buyers are asking for it."

Despite the uncertainty of production and launch dates, McCarthy was confident that the new E-Class Coupe would be competitively priced.

"I think it's going to be priced to please," McCarthy says. "The market's a lot different to when it was conceived but it's an important car."