Mercedes-Benz new C-Class: Young and Dynamic

22/09/07 - Today, the 4th generation of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is officially launched at Lam Son Square in Dist. 1, in downtown HCM City. This is a youthful and exciting show, particularly expresses characters of the new C-Class, young and dynamic.

Right at the event, Dr. Udo Loersch, General Director of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, announced: “The new C-Class is an outstanding combination of ride comfort and agility. This show is an official launch of the most impressive C-Class ever to Vietnam customers. I am so inspired and happy to see how the car sparks young people’s interest in the town as it’s used to do in other countries. Positive feedbacks we’ve received so far are the most precious awards for our effort and investment in all aspects for this strategic product. We would like to emphasize again that we commit to invest in Vietnam top-of-the line models from Mercedes-Benz worldwide.”

From the outstanding exterior...

The wedge shape of the front end gives an impression of forwards thrust, agility and performance. For the first time, Mercedes-Benz used the radiator grille on a saloon to position certain qualities even more prominently: for instance the ELEGANCE model with its three-dimensional radiator grille emphasizes qualities such as solidity, comfort – and a touch of luxury. In the AVANTGARDE line, the eye with its large, centrally positioned Mercedes star, a hallmark styling feature on the sporty Mercedes models.

A new design of the front headlamps bring a totally new face to the car. The pronounced V-shaped front section reminds people of a shooting arrow, expressing the car’s power while its technical improvements give us the Agility we need. With significantly larger body and a taut, flowing profile, it casts a powerful spell even while standing still. From the side view, heated exterior mirrors with auto dimming and power adjusted system; power windows with heat insulating glass, one-touch control and jam protection are all developed to the maximum. The masculine wheel arche exudes dominance, added by impressing 17-inch alloy wheels - 12- spoke for Elegance line and 5-twin-spoke for Avantgarde.

The rear-end of the car is equipped with ventilated LED tail lamps and adaptive brake lights with ventilating slits as a major help for better car stability and reducing dust built-up on the rear. Third brake light integrated in rear windscreen provides additional support functions for even more safety. The antenna on the rear top of the car makes it possible for Bluetooth interface for hand-free mobile phone used in car.

In addition, taut line and luxury chrome strips as character lines rising toward the rear as well as the coupe-like roofline further enhance the sporty, agile appearance of the car.

From the very first concepts and the digital designs on the Powerwall, the Mercedes designers leave you in no doubt which C-Class traits they set out to give visible form to with their design lines: effortless superiority, sportiness and style. The new interior designers also took advantage of the enormous possibilities of computer-aided design to test and discuss designs on the Powerwall. Professor Peter Pfeiffer, Senior Vice President Design Mercedes-Benz and Karlheinz Bauer were responsible for the design of the new C-Class. The finishing design touches were put to the 1:4 models before the first life-size design model was built.

Agility Control

This is the term used by Mercedes-Benz for all new and further developments that improve both comfort and agility in equal measure. This standard package includes the AGILITY CONTROL suspension, which controls the shock absorber forces according to the driving situation: when driving normally with low shock absorber impulses, the damping forces are automatically reduced for a noticeable improvement in riding comfort – but without any compromise in handling safety.

When driving more dynamically, the maximum damping forces are set and the car is effectively stabilised. The AGILITY CONTROL steering of the new C-Class has a ratio of 14.5, and is therefore six percent more direct than the steering of the preceding model. The likewise included AGILITY CONTROL gearshift reflects the sporty character of the C-Class with a short travel and precise shifts.

Crash tests

During the course of its development, the new C-Class successfully passed more than real 100 crash tests and about 5500 crash tests on the computer – true-to-life simulations, which provided engineers with useful insights particularly in the initial project phase. Mercedes-Benz uses one of the world’s largest IT network for these kinds of crash simulations, a process that involves computers carrying out up to 320 billion computing operations. Over 1500 processors were used as part of developing the safety systems for the C-Class. Passing these is a precondition for the highest accolade in automobile safety: the Mercedes star. Occupant protection is based on an intelligently designed body shell, 70 percent of which consists of high-strength and ultra high-strength steel. Compared to the previous series, Mercedes-Benz has enlarged the deformation zones even further and improved energy flows. The front-end structure of the new C-Class has four independently acting impact levels, which enable forces to be distributed over a wide area while bypassing the passenger cell.

The "C" Show

The “C Show” was not only a successful launching event; it was a place where high-tech sparked interest, where passion accompanied sanity, where sense met sensibility. In the lighting performance, the car turned up from a “cut diamond” reminded people of its original idea of design.

Moving backwards to 25 years ago, 1983, Mercedes-Benz introduced the first C-Class Generation, the Model 190, which very soon after that became a technological Trendsetter in automobile engineering. This new born “baby Benz” with its angular, trapezoid form of the bodyshell also paves the way for a future Mercedes design idiom in its time, “the diamond cut design”. The emphasis here is on purity of form, which the designers following the rules of modern purism and reinterpreting them in a modern context. Interplay between tightly drawn lines and large, tranquil surfaces are things a C-Class and a diamond has in common. The design furthermore expresses unruffled calm and power, and symbolises the technical superiority of cars bearing the Mercedes star. Along those years, our engineers have researched and developed these basic lines to this new C-Class which shows an agile technical perfection and an outstanding chic, young and sporty design.

25 years C-Class

25 years ago, Mercedes-Benz introduced the Model 190 and laid the foundations for what has become the bestselling model series in the history of the brand: the C-Class. It was a sensation and gave rise to a great deal of speciculation – making the “Baby Benz” the pioneer of a new design idiom. To date around six million C-Class units of 1st – 3th generation have been delivered to customers.

The new C-Class has met the wishes of young people all over the world. 23,900 cars were sold throughout Europe only in Aug. this year. Mercedes-Benz is very proud to continue the car’s success story by bringing them to the Vietnamese market.

C-for-yourself

Visit our webspecial to register for C-Class test drive, or discover more with a closer view at the new C-Class, select painting color, view interior, watch interactive films, watch and download TVC of new C-Class, or "The making of new C-Class", discover highlights of the C-Class...