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Mercedes plans on redesigning the entire C-Class lineup with saloon and estate versions - while the Sportcoupe will remain based on the W203 chassis - coming out throughout 2007 and 2008. There will be an increase of component-sharing with other Mercedes' models, namely the redesigned E- and S-Class, as well as the upcoming GLK-Class compact SUV. Versions of the car will be available with a choice of rear- and all-wheel drive (in the latter case an improved version of the 4MATIC system, not available in right-hand drive format), along with a variety of four- and six-cylinder engines. Engines will most likely be the straight-4 M271 and V6 M272 petrol engines and straight-4 OM611 + OM651 and V6 OM642 Diesel engines. Six speed manual transmissions is standard on all models (except C 350), with the 7G-TRONIC seven-gear automatic transmission available for six-cylinder engines (7G-TRONIC is available for C 230K, C 280 and C 320 CDI and standard for C 350) and a five speed automatic transmission available for the four cylinder models.
The development of the W204 C-Class included the use of a "digital prototype", which put a 2.1 terabyte digital replica of the car through an exhaustive 15 million mile road course. This is an industry first, and allowed for crash testing and more, before a physical prototype was actually constructed.
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DaimlerChrysler introduced a new generation of the C-Class on January 18, 2007 [2] and displayed it in the 2007 Geneva Auto Show. Sales started on March 31, 2007 in almost all European countries. The new vehicle has an extended wheelbase and tracks, a stiffer bodyshell and a design inspired by the most recent S-Class and some hints from the CLS-Class. The model has three levels of equipment - Classic, Elegance and Avantgarde. A high performance AMG version with a 6.2 L engine is projected to follow in September 2007, labelled C 63 AMG with 457 PS (335 kW). The Classic and Elegance lines retain the traditional Mercedes-Benz radiator grille, with a three-point star bonnet emblem. The Avantgarde line has a grille similar to that on Mercedes' sport coupe models, with two horizontal bars and a large centre-mounted star. In the UK the Classic line is known as the SE and the Avantgarde line is known as the C-Class Sport [3], and comes with an AMG bodykit, and AMG alloy wheels as standard.