Once available with V8 muscle, the C-Class now comes with four-cylinder lumps exclusively. Even the C 63 is a four-pot affair, which has ruffled some feathers. The C-Class in the video below – thankfully – isn't a member of the 206 series, but a previous-gen C 43 in coupe flavor.
Originally called C 450 4MATICAMG Sport, the V6-powered was renamed C 43 4MATIC for the 2017 model year. This change was heavily criticized by AMG enthusiasts because the V6 engine in question isn't assembled by hand in Affalterbach.
Given that the sedan-only C 43 produced nowadays comes with an AMG-designed I4, critics of the previous generation certainly deserve some humble pie. While it may not be as exotic as the hybridized 2.0-liter turbo in the 2023 model, the V6 offers more aural pleasure and slightly more room for tuning.
Take, for instance, the coupe-bodied C 43 in the video below. Originally rated at 385 horsepower and 384 pound-feet (521 Nm) of twist, the 3.0-liter mill belts out an estimated 475 horsepower with a JB4 map 2 tune. Most of those ponies are channeled to all four wheels by a nine-speed automatic, and the C 43 Coupe weighs 3,902 pounds (1,770 kilos).
The Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 next to it weighs more, as in 4,020 pounds (1,823 kilos). This one isn't stock either, for it also hides a JB4 map 2 tune underhood. The 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 breathes in and out better as well thanks to new intakes, downpipes, and a cat-back exhaust. The mod list further includes a Burger Motorsports intercooler heat exchanger with double the cooling surface area and thrice the fluid volume of the factory unit.
Its engine is also shared with the 2023 model year Nissan Z sports car. Both applications make 400 horsepower and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm), yet the modified Q60 Red Sport 400 sourced by Sam CarLegion belts out an estimated 470 ponies.
Over the course of three rolling start races, the Infiniti admits defeat from the very beginning of said races. Two dig races later, the C 43 remains undefeated, clocking 11.8 seconds in the quarter mile compared to 12.2 for the Japanese coupe. As far as the sprint from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) is concerned, make that 3.89 seconds compared to 4.2 seconds for the loser.
Infiniti discontinued the Q60 after the 2022 model year. The Q50 four-door sedan is either going the way of the dodo after 2024, or will be kept on life support until a yet-to-be-detailed EV will start production in 2025 at the Canton assembly plant in Mississippi. From the provided teasers, the indirect replacement appears to be a sedan-like vehicle.
Mercedes already offers two electric sedans in the US market, namely the EQE and EQS. Both of them feature 400-volt electrical architectures, and hearsay suggests an 800-volt refresh as early as 2025.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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