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2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB Leaked, Does What It Says on the Box

It was no secret the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class was going to receive a long-wheelbase version moments after its official launch, considering the previous generation also had one.
2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB 1 photo
Photo: PCauto.com.cn
In case you’re scratching your head trying to remember when was the last time you’ve seen such a car drive by on the street, unless you’re living in China, the answer is probably “never.” For some strange reason, the Chinese prefer their cars long, so the LWB version of the W212 was restricted solely to the Asian market.

Before you get your hopes too high and your knees all ready for a stretch, you should know that the new generation will suffer the same fate. We could be in for an even greater treat if the Mercedes-Maybach E-Class rumors turn out to be true, but until then, the taller among us can only look with envy at the spoiled Chinese.

The car is yet to be launched, with these images here being just another example of how it is virtually impossible to prevent a leak when the car in question is being built in China (you can thank pcauto website for the honors). And it even applies to scale models of the car, if you remember the whole Volvo S90/V90 story late last year.

The more powerful of the longer Mercedes-Benz E-Class will get the E300L moniker (with other engines being added later on to change the nomenclature accordingly), which means it will come with a two-liter turbo gasoline engine developing 245 hp, mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. At the moment of its launch, customers will also be able to opt for an E200L that comes with a similar engine, only less powerful: 184 hp.

The E-Class L will be officially launched in April at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show, which means the surprise was cut short by more than a month by these photos. In all honesty, though, it isn’t much of a surprise, as apart from the longer rear doors, the car looks just about the same as a regular E-Class. The 14 cm (5.5”) it gets over the standard E-Class sedan’s wheelbase are hard to spot, but they will probably be guilty of making a lot of people look twice trying to figure out if it’s an E-Class or an S-Class they’re looking at.

The new car will be manufactured exclusively by the Beijing-Benz joint venture and will only sell on the Chinese market. The prices are believed to be around the 400,000 to 600,000 yuan mark, which corresponds to $61,330 - $92,000.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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