2010 Mercedes E-Class revealed before NAIAS
December 15, 2009 by Tim Beissmann
The 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet has been unveiled today ahead of its official debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.
The new Cabriolet will be offered in E350 and E500 variants when it goes on sale in the US in May 2010.
Power outputs remain the same as the current sedan and coupe models, the 3.5-litre V6 in the E350 producing 200kW/350Nm and the 5.5-litre V8 from the E550 puts out 285kW and 530Nm of torque.
Both are mated to Mercedes’ seven-speed automatic transmission.
Visually the car shares much with the E-Class Coupe.
The interior is mostly unchanged and the main differences can be observed from the rear with the unique panelling of the boot and roof.
Mercedes has resisted the hard-top trend, instead opting for a 23mm thick cloth lid which saves space and weight and can be raised or retracted in less than 20 seconds at speeds of up to 40km/h.
The headline act on the new E-Class Cabriolet is AirCap – the combination of an air diverter blade that rises from the top of the windshield and a three-position mesh draft-stop between the rear seat headrests.
The result is one that tricks the laws of aerodynamics and dramatically decreases turbulence and air noise in the cabin when the top is down, working best between 50-240km/h.
Air normally rolls off the top of the windscreen down into the cabin but the deflector bends the air to take a similar shape to when the roof is up.
Further adding to the comfort of front seat top-down passengers is Mercedes’ headrest-embedded AirScarf neck heating system from the S-Class.
The E-Class becomes the German brand’s first convertible to offer head airbags and safety is increased by reinforced A-pillars and other braces.
Expect pricing to increase marginally over the outgoing CLK Cabriolet, which currently retails at $139,916 for the CLK350 and $170,634 for the CLK500 (manufacturer’s RRP not including dealer, statutory and on-road charges).
Tags: Mercedes-Benz E-Class
B e a u t i f u l . . .
Dirty Dirty Rich Rich dirty dirty BEAUTIFUL~
Meh.
That is one nice looking vehicle – well done MB.
I still prefer the S5, but nice job MB.
Completely agree, the MB E-Class drop top is nice, but the S5 does it for me too.
if only they would reconsider a convertible 63… no better way to enjoy that engine note than with the top off.
This car is absolutely beautiful! But wasn’t the AirScarf from the SLK, not the S-Class. Why would a regular sedan need the AirScarf?
Anyway, I am very much liking Merc’s new line-up. Maybe they can steal me back from BMW… Although I still can’t get over the X6, the E-Class is top notch!
Correct – CarAdvice has stuffed up. It’s the AirScarf from the SL though.
Maybe CA were refering to the S-600 concept Convertible from 2006. The industry still believe they will produce it. That had an AirScarf. But yes the SL’s have them
Looks like it’s just me but after checking out the latest Mercs the angles are just wrong! That bottom photo looks like a mosaic of a few different cars photo shopped together. The 07 Mercs were so much nicer before all these harsh angles appeared. No doubt nice and aerodynamic but……, as the Shak said “meh”
I sat in a DBS Volante this arvo (yesterday arvo now actually) and boy…..that’s a convertible. Much lower and more aggressive in the flesh and (apart from the price) just sublime.
The 3.5 litre motor is now really old tech, I mean 200 KW and 350nm is far from anything special and neither is 285KW and 530nm from the 5.5. litre engine anything special. Where’s direct injection technology ?
Where’s low pressure twin turbo technology ?
Why are Mercedes-benz so slow in bringing out some new engine technology, can’t they get their new engines right ?
True, but knowing Mercedes Benz, they have plans, you know as well as I do, Merc never rest on their laurels!