by Greg Karpinski
You'd be forgiven to have missed Mercedes's announcement nearly a year ago of the new CLE model line. As Mercedes has worked diligently to cull the herd of their severely bloated model line, the brand has looked for models to phase out or, in the case of the CLE, combining the former C-class coupe and E-class coupe into something "new". Conversely, one element that remains unchanging is the pairing of Mercedes-AMG variants of nearly every model, in both mild and wild configurations.
However, in the case of the just-announced Mercedes-AMG CLE53, mild may actually be... a little wild.
Like most mild variants, the CLE53 receives a breathed-on version of its more plebian brother's engine, in this case, the CLE450's 3.0L straight six paired with a 48v mild hybrid system. In CLE450 guise, that engine is good for 375hp and with the 9G-TRONIC 9-speed automatic transmission, makes for spritely performance. After the mad engineers at Mercedes-
AMG are done fiddling with it down in their labs in Affalterbach, the engine has been boosted to 443hp and the 48v mild hybrid system can provide a further performance boost at lower speeds. This output fits nicely in the hierarchy between the 402hp C43 and 677hp C63 sedans; though both of those make due with a 2.0L turbo four with hybrid assist that we roundly panned in our Naughty and Nice podcast, earning Mercedes a spot on the Naughty list. Mercedes-AMG reckons the CLE53 can hit 60mph in four seconds, though that's likely super conservative given the less powerful C43 sedan can do the same in 3.9 seconds.
Mercedes-AMG hasn't just fitted a bigger turbo and revised bumper covers and called the CLE53 done. In the 3.0L straight six, they've revised the combustion chambers, outlet channels and piston rings while, of course, fitting that bigger turbo. That turbo works in tandem with an electric auxiliary compressor which creates an overboost function of up to 12 seconds at a time, generating peak boost of 22psi. As with other AMG models, the CLE53 is outfitted with Mercedes's rear-biased 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system and is paired with the 9-speed automatic gearbox.
Outside, Mercedes-AMG has bulked up the bodywork, creating a properly muscular coupe. The front fenders are 2.3 inches wider and the rear haunches have been stretched 3.0 inches over the standard CLE. An AMG-styled Panamericana front bumper cover and hood finish off the aggressive look. Inside, changes are minimal versus the standard car outside the ubiquitous flat-bottom AMG wheel and fancier shift paddles, lost amongst two giant screens. Mercedes-AMG hasn't announced when the car is going on sale, but we anticipate it hitting our shores mid-2024 as a 2025 model, with pricing starting around $80,000.
We're excited that Mercedes hasn't given up on the coupe segment entirely. Typically, even slower sellers than sedans tend to be coupes and we're happy this one still exists, even if it trends quite a bit more closely to the C-class versus the E-class.
Mercedes-AMG could have easily leveraged the 2.0L turbo four with hybrid assist and tuned a similar output here without much issue; however, they chose to keep that sweet 3.0L straight six as a unique engine in a sea of heavily-massaged 2.OL turbos. The Mercedes-AMG design team has also worked their magic making a somewhat forgettable car look absolutely menacing, especially trimmed in the satin black of the press photos. Until Mercedes-AMG further stirs the pot with the almost-certainly-coming CLE63, we're happy that with the CLE53, AMG still tickles our wild side just enough.
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