The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé has made its public debut at the Detroit motor show one month after order books opened in Britain.
The two-door model is priced from £40,135, and first deliveries are expected to arrive in April. It's offered in the UK exclusively in AMG Line trim, meaning even the most basic models will come with a lengthy list of kit and 19in wheels as standard.
Click here to read about the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet
AMG range-topper
The car on show in Detroit is an E 400 4Matic, but that model will hand the range-topping spot to an AMG-engineered E 50 4Matic mild hybrid model, which is due to be unveiled during the latter half of the year.
2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé: we take a ride
To be launched as part of this year's extensive 50th anniversary celebrations planned for Mercedes’ AMG performance arm, the potent coupé will be among the first models to receive the German car maker’s all-new M256 in-line six-cylinder petrol engine that is set to have its debut in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Running a conventional turbocharger in combination with an electrically driven compressor and a 48V electrical system, the 3.0-litre unit delivers 402bhp in standard guise. However, a series of tweaks, including higher boost pressure and internal modifications, are set to yield around 450bhp for the powertrain’s application in the E 50 Coupé.
Chassis
The new E-Class Coupé has been engineered from the ground up for a more upmarket positioning than that of its predecessor.
With the adoption of Mercedes’ latest MRA platform, the E-Class Coupé has grown both in size and positioning. Its length is up by 123mm to 4826mm, width has extended by 74mm to 1860mm and height has increased by 32mm to 1430mm.
The wheelbase has also been extended by 113mm over that of its predecessor at 2873mm, while the front and rear tracks are up by 67mm and 68mm respectively, at 1605mm and 1609mm.
The larger footprint provides the basis for a roomier cabin with an additional 18mm of head room, 50mm more shoulder room and 38mm more elbow room up front. The increase in interior space is mirrored in the rear, which gets an added 74mm of knee room, 15mm of head room, 34mm of shoulder room and 13mm more elbow room over the old model, which used the same platform as the superseded C-Class saloon.
