New Mercedes-Benz E-Klasse Coupe Revealed Ahead of Geneva

Just two weeks before the official unveiling at the Geneva Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz has taken the wraps off of the CLK-replacement, the new E-Klasse Coupe. For a reason known only by themselves, Mercedes-Benz marketing people have decided to scrap the CLK nomenclature from their coupe series and instead switch back to the old days, when each of their sedans had a coupe and convertible brother.

Almost three months after the unveiling of the new E-Klasse sedan at the North American International Automobile Show in Detroit, the time has now come for the E-Klasse Coupe to steal all the glory at the Geneva Auto Show. Based on the same platform as the new E-Klasse sedan, which is itself based on a modified C-Klasse platform, the new coupe brings Mercedes-Benz's latest fuel consumption reducing technologies.

Among these technologies something special really caught up our attention. Believe it or not, as machete-designed the new E-Klasse Coupe might look, this is actually the most aerodynamically efficient series-production car in the world. With a drag coefficient of only 0.24, this beats purpose-built “flat pancakes”, or “aero vehicles” such as the Toyota Prius or the Honda Insight.

When the sales start at the beginning of May, five engines will be available, of which four of them will have direct injection, while two of them are completely new. The base engines will comprise of a CDI and a CGI (diesel and petrol) with the BlueEFFICIENCY badge stamped onto them. The E 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Coupe jumps on the sequentially turbocharged diesel engines bandwagon, offering 204 hp, 500 Nm of torque and a fuel consumption of only 5.3 liters per 100 km (US 44.4 mpg).

The gasoline E 250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY is a turbocharged four-cylinder also offering 204 hp but 310 Nm of torque this time, while the fuel consumption stays at a mere 7 liters per 100 km (US 33.6 mpg). The next engine on the power scale is the E 350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Coupe which outputs 231 hp and 540 Nm, while delivering a combined fuel consumption of 6.8 liters per 100 km (US 34.6 mpg).

The most powerful “fuel sipper” in the range is the E 350 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY Coupe, which delivers 292 hp and 365 Nm, all while consuming only 8.5 liters per 100 km (US 27.7 mpg). The top of the range engine loses its BlueEFFICIENCY badges since it would be pretty awkward if you would be talking about efficiency while driving a V8. Therefore, the E 500 Coupe inherits the 5.5 liter V8 from the ol' CLK. With 388 hp and 530 Nm of torque, this model has a combined fuel consumption of 10.9 liters per 100 km (US 21.6 mpg).

As you can probably observe, the main point of discussion about the new E-Klasse Coupe might be its incredible efficiency (for a Mercedes-Benz coupe). Another “big thing” about the new coupe might be its soon-to-be-talked-about exterior design, which focuses on angular, very '80s shapes. Apart from the twin-headlamp face, another common design theme to be shared with the saloon is the contour of the rear wing - a styling cue which also gave the 220 S “Ponton” Coupe of 1955 its athletic appearance.

Programed to appear in the flesh at the Geneva Auto show in about two weeks time, deliveries will start all over Europe at the beginning of May. No price list has been made available yet but we'll keep you in touch whenever anything else comes up. You should expect a slight increase compared with the old CLK though, since the new E-Klasse Coupe appears to be more upscale.