The Mercedes-Benz Media Night gives us an insight into the latest releases due to go on public display at the Geneva Motor Show 2016. Mercedes-Benz have a huge amount to offer Geneva this year ranging from the world premiere of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet to European premieres for the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 and the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The show gives us an opportunity to see these cars before they hit the show stands tomorrow morning.

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The Mercedes-Benz Media Night gives us an insight into the latest releases due to go on public display at the Geneva Motor Show 2016. Mercedes-Benz have a huge amount to offer Geneva this year ranging from the world premiere of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet to European premieres for the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 and the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The show gives us an opportunity to see these cars before they hit the show stands tomorrow morning.

In the afternoon a day before the show’s official opening, Mercedes-Benz presented the armored Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard, which is in many ways a true heavyweight. Weighing in at over three tonnes, the car is priced around a hefty €700.000. Reactions on one of our Instagram photos were immediately aimed at the size of the car’s wheels, of course this has to do with the size of the thick tires that are supposed to survive both bullets and a bed of nails.

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The Mercedes-Benz E-Class similarly had its European premiere at the show on monday afternoon. With a wide range of E-Classes being presented on the show, from the E200 to the E400, the benchmark in the business segment is according to Mercedes-Benz their most important car of the year 2016. The E-Class is set to contribute to Mercedes-Benz’ five consecutive years of sales success, following the 2012 A-Class, 2013 S-Class, 2014 C-Class and the 2015 record year with the abundance of SUV unveilings.

About that sales success, 2015 was a true record year for Mercedes-Benz, increasing sales by 13% compared to 2014. Naturally the German star brand wants to maintain that strong momentum and is said to be hungry for more. Currently they are betting on expanding the C-Class range, which now knows 12 variants on the model, the just now revealed C-Class Cabriolet included. Of course it wasn’t “just” the C-Class convertible being unveiled tonight, the performance version, the C43 Cabriolet was unveiled as well.

The debut of the Mercedes-AMG C 43 Cabriolet portrays one of Mercedes-Benz’ milestones on its own, being the 48th AMG performance model now available and securing the brand’s steady first place in widest range of performance cars worldwide. With that being said, Mercedes AMG boss Tobias Moers stated: “This year will see the largest model offensive in AMG history”.

Accompanied by a live performance of Swedish rising star Zara Larsson, the debut of the C-Class convertible was themed “Dream Cars”, with a tribute to the 1886 patent motor car, 540 K Special Roadster and the iconic 300 SL.

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With a 3.0-liter V6 Biturbo, the Mercedes-AMG C 43 Cabriolet truly steals tonight’s show. Paired with a 9G-Tronic automatic transmission, the AMG convertible features the AMG performance 4MATIC rear-biased (31:69) all-wheel drive system as standard. Producing 367 hp and 520 Nm of torque even in the lower rev range, the C 43 Cabriolet sprints to a 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.

The Mercedes-AMG C 43 4MATIC Cabriolet features AMG Ride Control sports suspension with three-stage adjustable damping, AMG Dynamic Select with five modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and Manual) and a three-stage ESP system. The front axel gets new steering knuckles and spring link supporting joints. Larger brakes measuring 260mm on the front axle and 320mm on the rear axle help with the increased performance.

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The C 43 Cabriolet on display at the Mercedes-Benz media night looks especially stunning in red. It features the diamond radiator grille that we know from all other C-Class performance models. The performance convertible shares the soft-top with the regular C-Class Cabriolet which can open and close in less than 20 seconds time. Color options for the soft-top comprise of black, dark blue, brown or dark red. Inside we find an updated AMG instrument cluster with AMG menu options and a speedometer showing a limit of 280 km/h. The interior is finished with ARTICO man made leather and black DYNAMICA microfibre with red stitching.

Highlights of the convertible’s extensive options list show the air-scarf neck-warming feature that we know from other Mercedes-Benz convertible models, making it possible to drive with the top open 365 days a year. We also find air suspension on the options list as well as distronic plus with steering assist. The C 43 Convertible further impresses with its benchmark drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.28.

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With the debut of the C-Class convertible at the, the gap in Mercedes-Benz’ open-top portfolio is effectively closed. For more news about Mercedes-Benz at the Geneva Motor Show 2016 or all other car news, please follow our social media channels and keep an eye on the website where the articles will keep on flowing the coming days.

Geneva Motor Show 2016

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