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Mercedes-AMG C43 Wagon Is Late to the Facelift Testing Party

Mercedes has been parading a range of C-Class facelift models up and down Germany's motorway network. We know the debut is imminent because one sedan was spotted uncamouflaged. But this blue wagon with a body kit has been seen for the first time this week and is still wearing bumper camouflage.
Mercedes-AMG C43 Wagon Is Late to the Facelift Testing Party 5 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Mercedes-AMG C43 Wagon Is Late to the Facelift Testing PartyMercedes-AMG C43 Wagon Is Late to the Facelift Testing PartyMercedes-AMG C43 Wagon Is Late to the Facelift Testing PartyMercedes-AMG C43 Wagon Is Late to the Facelift Testing Party
Could this be indicative of comprehensive changes being made to the C43 T-Model? That's fascinating stuff because it's still up in the air whether the C-Class will receive the new inline-6 engines. There's a single and a twin-turbo diesel that has our attention, but the real headline grabber would be a replacement for the C43's twin-turbo 3.0-liter.

This engine received a lot of criticising for not being hand-built like all the other AMG mills. In the C43, it also doesn't make its full output and produces inferior sound to its Jaguar counterpart. So it would make sense for it to be replaced.

An inline-6-powered C43 T-Model might make a worthy competitor for the Audi S4 Avant and upcoming BMW M340i xDrive Touring. Unlike the full-fat C63, it would come as standard with AWD, making the most of all that power and torque.

But maybe we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. While this has all the design elements of the C43 - bumpers, exhaust and side skirts - it could be something else. Mercedes might also keep the V6 since the engine is only a few years old.


While the C 43’s on-throttle balance is enjoyable, the rest of the handling experience is not so. As we've already mentioned, the exhaust note leaves something to be desired, the steering isn't tactile and the chassis doesn't rotate like you would expect a fast Merc too. In most regards, this is supposed to be a C450 model with an AMG body kit.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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