Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupé

It’s rare when a model shifts as radically from generation to generation as has the Mercedes-Benz A-class. In this case, though, such shifts shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: The A has always been a bit radical, ever since its introduction in 1997 as competition for the perennially popular VW Golf. The Merc’s seating position was higher than in typical compacts, in the fashion of wildly popular SUVs, for a better view of the road. The car featured a sandwich-style floor for crash reasons (in frontal impacts, the engine would be driven under the occupants) and to provide room for battery or fuel storage in alternative-powertrain models.
The next-gen 2013 A-class—revealed in Geneva in March—remains a radical vehicle for Mercedes in both its architecture and its styling, even as it eschews the tall proportions and sandwich floor. Its MFA bones (for “Mercedes Front-wheel-drive Architecture”) serve as the jumping-off point for several derivatives, including the CLA-class previewed by the concept you see here. (They also will spawn an Infiniti model, thanks to the recent Renault-Nissan/Daimler tie-up.) With this model proliferation—three- and five-door hatchbacks, a small crossover, and the recently released B-class—Mercedes hopes to sell many more small cars globally. We will get the crossover and this sedan, while reports on U.S. hatch availability seem to be in flux.
And Now for Something Completely Smaller
Now, to the concept/future production model at hand. We received exclusive access to the Concept Style Coupé just ahead of its debut at the 2012 Beijing auto show, and were told by Mercedes design chief Gorden Wagener that what you see here (apart from the side mirrors and a few similarly fanciful elements) constitutes for all intents and purposes the series-production CLA-class. We hope that’s more true than with the A-class hatchback concept, which lost its sizzle in the transition to production.
The four-door car resembles a shrunken CLS, although at 182.6 inches long, it’s about a foot shorter. (It’s a smidge shorter in height and roughly the same width.) The exterior, with its sharply creased character lines, has a more dynamic look than is typical of cars this size. Amplifying the athletic styling, the concept is fitted with 20-inch turbine-style wheels, and it also boasts power domes on the hood and a gaping lower intake. The grille, as we saw on AMG-engineered Sport versions of the A-class, is punctuated by hundreds of bright elements. Merc confirms we’ll see more of this on future sporty models; the company refers to it as its “diamond grille,” although the shiny bits are made of chromed steel and not precious gems. All told, it’s quite a handsome piece.
The four-door CLA will be a competitor to the most-potent versions of the next-generation MkVII Golf and the new Audi A3. Note that we didn’t call out the Golf R, the Audi RS3, or future M versions of the BMW 1-series: While an AMG version of this car and other A-class derivatives are forthcoming—likely with all-wheel drive—this concept does not preview that 325-plus-hp, top-of-the-line CLA model. But it does share a basic turbocharged 2.0-liter direct-injected four-cylinder engine with the A-class AMG, which is likely to be called A45, as well as a transmission; the version of the force-fed four used here makes a more modest 208 horses and hooks up to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. All four wheels are driven on the show car.



This powertrain and (optional) 4MATIC all-wheel drive should appear in a production CLA250. The A-class is offered with a smaller 1.6-liter turbo four in two strengths, as well as three diesel options. We speculate that the weaker gas engines will be left in Europe, as will the diesels. (If we were to get a diesel version of this car, we’d hope for the engine slotted into the A220 CDI, a 2.1-liter making 167 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque.) Mercedes predicts that the 2.0-liter gas engine will team with best-in-class aerodynamics to deliver more miles per gallon than its competitors. That is, it must be noted, a very limited set.
Tech, Tech, Tech—It’s a Mercedes, After All
Inside, the car feels roomier than it actually is thanks in part to the fixed panoramic glass roof. The roof also has Benz’s Magic Sky Control tech, which changes the roof from tinted to clear at the press of a button; this was introduced to our market on the most recent SLK350 and also is offered on the latest SL. The strip of sheetmetal stretching between the C-pillars is for rollover protection, we’re told, and it also plays host to the car’s various antennas.
The back seat, for those not intimidated by the smallish door apertures, features a low seating position and enough head- and legroom to make two adults reasonably comfortable. The dash is trimmed by a full-width carbon-fiber piece, and white, gray, and neon green form the color palette for the seat, door, and dashtop coverings.
Brake assist, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and more are becoming more prevalent in small cars, and Mercedes has gifted even some of its more advanced technology to this car. One such item is Collision Prevention Assist, which uses radar to sense possible rear-end collisions; if it thinks you might be about to turn your Merc into a piece of abstract art, it preps the brakes and various other elements for an emergency stop. Mercedes’ Pre-Safe setup—once the sole domain of the S-class—will be offered on the production CLA-class. It rolls up the windows and tightens the front seatbelts, among other things, in the event the car detects an imminent crash.
Beyond the safety-oriented tech, Mercedes spent development time and money on stuff the youth market really cares about: telematics and smartphone connectivity. The car’s infotainment setup features phone integration—and phone-like display of its functions—as well as a suite of downloadable apps. Internet connectivity via your phone is available on the main screen when the car is stationary.
Mercedes hopes to double annual sales of its A-class family to 400,000 units worldwide; success would place the company well ahead of BMW (about 175,000 1-series cars per year) but far behind Volkswagen (approximately 3 million cars based on the Golf platform, including Audi, SEAT, Škoda, and Chinese-market models). What will help, of course, is the intention to offer most of the A-class derivatives across the globe: The CLA-class, for example, will not only be built in Germany but also in Hungary and China. It should arrive here as a 2014 model.

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