Mercedes-Benz will once again use inline six-cylinder engines

Although the new generation of the C-Class, the W205, has not yet been unveiled and the facelift of the E-Class is still recent, Mercedes-Benz is already working on their respective updates. Most of what is coming remains a mystery, but one of them has already taken shape thanks to information Autocar obtained from the German brand. And, as has happened with certain model names, Mercedes-Benz will once again draw on its past to catch up.

Indeed, both the next E-Class, due in 2016 and with the code W213, and the facelift the new C-Class will receive in 2017 will bring back the manufacturer’s characteristic inline six-cylinder engines. Mercedes-Benz stopped using them in the mid-1990s, but has decided to work with them again, based on the new modular engine architecture.

The last inline six-cylinder block the brand used was the petrol M104, built until 1997 and fitted to nearly every model in its range, from the W202 C-Class to the R129 SL. It was succeeded by the V6 M112, which debuted in the W210 E-Class in 1997. The new architecture will also give rise to three- and four-cylinder units, the first of which, despite its modest billing, promises, according to Mercedes-Benz, the refinement its customers seek.

As for other future engines, the AMG version of the next C-Class will use a 4.0 twin-turbo V8. Like other recent AMG models, it can be ordered with 4MATIC all-wheel drive as an option, and the seven-speed Speedshift gearbox it arrives with will be replaced by a nine-speed unit in the 2017 facelift. A hybrid variant, on which Mercedes-Benz is also putting considerable effort, will not be missing either.

Source | Autocar