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Mercedes-Benz C-Class Powertrain Milestones

Even though the recently-unveiled Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 is technically the fourth generation of the model, the C-Class actually spans for five generations if we include the Bruno Sacco-designed 190 (W201), also known as the original “Baby Benz”.
Mercedes-Benz 190-Elektro (W201) 36 photos
Photo: Daimler AG
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Despite being the smallest and also cheapest Mercedes-Benz sedan in the three-pointed star lineup at the time, the 190 (W201) was packed with powertrain features that soon found their way into other models, be them from Stuttgart or other cities.

The same thing happened with the first ever Mercedes-Benz to bear the C-Class nameplate, the W202 from 1991, while the following W203 and W204 generations raised the banner higher and higher, with the upcoming W205 C-Class to be benefit from features even more innovative than an S-Class from two generations ago.

  • The first production Mercedes-Benz engine with four-valves per cylinder found its way in the 1983 190 2.3-16, while the C 230 Kompressor (W202) from 1995 brought a resurrection of the supercharger technology from the car maker which first introduced it.
  • The first ever V8 engine in the Mercedes-Benz compact sedan segment came in 1997 in the shape of the C 43 AMG (W202), paving the way for the brutish C 63 AMG (W204) of today.
  • When talking about diesel, the oil-burners in the 190 (W201) made it the first ever passenger car to feature an encapsulated engine in order to minimize exterior noise, leading to the vehicles being given the nickname “whispering diesel”.
  • In 1997, just a couple of months after Alfa Romeo, the C 220 CDI (W202) became the second ever passenger car to feature a diesel engine with common-rail, a technology that is used by all other diesel car manufacturers today.
  • The W201 and the W202 were also technology pioneers in the field of electric and hybrid systems in passenger vehicles, with several all-electric and hybrid W201 and W202 models having been built and used in trial runs between 1990 and 1992.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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