Detroit Motor Show: Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG 4MATIC

DETAILS of the second V6-engined Mercedes-Benz to wear the AMG badge – the C450 AMG 4MATIC – have leaked online. It’s all part of the performance arm’s expansion, to take on the Audi S4 and BMW 335i M Sport.

When it goes on sale in 2016, for about $80,000, the C450 4Matic will become the first C-Class ever sold in Australia to feature all-paw grip, and only the second mainstream passenger car in the Mercedes-Benz Australia showroom to use the 4Matic system. The other is the A45 AMG.

In late 2014, AMG and Mercedes announced they would offer AMG Sport models in response to Audi S and BMW M Performance offerings. These would fill the gap between regular models and the over-the-top yet utterly brilliant AMG versions.

That means the C450 AMG isn’t a wake-the-neighbours autobahn crusher in the same mould as the Mercedes-AMG C63 but instead a lukewarm C-Class with a little more muscle than the regular models.

‘Lukewarm’ in AMG terms is a 270kW twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 and a 0-100km/h time of 4.9sec – as quick as the previous BMW M3 and only a few tenths shy of the outgoing V8 C63’s 4.6sec effort. Importantly, it’s faster than the BMW 335i M Sport’s 5.5sec claim.

That’s partly due to 520Nm from a lowly 2000rpm delivered through a seven-speed auto, but also because the C450 features 4Matic AWD. It’s rear-biased, with up to 67 percent of drive shuttled to the back. There are also lighter, stiffer suspension components taken from the new Mercedes-AMG C63, with adaptive dampers to complement the sports steering and 18-inch alloys.

Fuel consumption is 7.6L/100km for the sedan version, while the estate version will use about 0.1L/100km more.