It may look like the recently launched Mercedes-Benz CLA, but the subject of these spy photos is actually the next generation of C-Class – undisguised.
Snapped somewhere in Scandinavia from a very long range, the mid-size Mercedes was a ready-for-production model that has clearly adopted the corporate look of the CLA and the larger E-Class. According to the spy photographers at Automedia, the new C-Class looks set to score headlights styled along lines very similar to the E-Class's.
Little is known of the drivetrain alternatives Benz will offer buyers when the new C-Class arrives in global markets from late this year or early 2014, but it's rumoured that the three-pointed star is actively developing three-cylinder engines. Automedia predicts, however, that a more likely option is a four-cylinder engine with cylinder deactivation, cutting out two of the four when not required.
The spy photographers have also heard from normally reliable sources that the new C-Class range – W205? – will feature hybrid variants. The hybrid C-Class variants will be powered by both petrol and diesel engines, coupled to an electric motor expected to develop around 20kW, in keeping with the same set-up in the new E 300 BlueTec Hybrid. – with Automedia
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