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Mercedes-AMG Introduces More Affordable Models: the GLC43 Coupe and E43 Wagon

Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz decided to scrap its AMG Sport line of vehicles a little over a year since its introduction, exactly when people were starting to get used to the new hierarchy in the brand's lineup.
Mercedes-AMG E43 Estate in Paris 28 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf/Guido ten Brink
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Back in early 2015, the idea was to offer more people the opportunity of joining the ranks of AMG owners by building lower-priced models, but without hurting the exclusiveness of the full-blown AMG cars. This led to intricate naming patterns that made the already bushy tree of the Mercedes-Benz range even more complicated to decipher.

The launch of the facelifted SLK model saw the introduction of the first AMG model to bear the "43" indicative. This apparently random number is used to indicate Affalterbach models that hide a V6 engine under their hood, as opposed to the V8-powered 63s, and V12-powered 65s. Pretty simple, if a bit arbitrary.

The Paris Motor Show marked the public premiere for two more V6 models that were introduced halfway through September: the Mercedes-AMG E43 and the Mercedes-AMG GLC43 Coupe. These go-faster versions offer sports-car-like performances and handling while also returning pretty decent consumption numbers. In fact, apart from opening up the AMG brand to a whole new client base by lowering the price, this mixture of performance and efficiency was the main thought behind the V6-powered AMGs.

Just like with the AMG 63 versions, the 43s will keep the power gap between the E-Class and the GLC-Class. That means that while the E43 gets the full 401 hp out of the twin-turbo V6 engine, the GLC43 has to make do with "just" 367 hp. That's still enough for a 4.9 seconds sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) thanks to the 4MATIC four-wheel-drive system and the 9G-TRONIC nine-speed automatic transmission.

The 401 hp in the E43 (also with 4MATIC and 9G-TRONIC) give the E-Class a quicker acceleration time of 4.6 seconds for the sedan and 0.1 seconds slower for the station wagon. The top speed is the same for all three cars: an electronically limited 250 km/h (155 mph). The sales release for this model will follow in October shortly after their Paris premiere, with first deliveries expected to take place during the last month of the year.
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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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