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Thanks: Mercedes-Benz - Die Niederlassungen 2024 Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 One imagines Hans, Franz, and all their pals at AMG reacting thusly to the new Mercedes-Benz CLE coupe, which debuted last summer in four-cylinder CLE300 and six-cylinder CLE450 form. After a muscle-building regimen at AMG HQ in Affalterbach, the result is the Mercedes-AMG CLE53. The vertical-slat grille may be the first-noticed telltale that this is the AMG version, but the more transformative elements are the swollen front and rear fenders that accommodate similarly wider tracks, by 2.3 inches in front and 3.0 in back, compared to the regular CLE coupe. Additionally, the AMG-specific front fenders allowed the CLE53's front wheels to move 0.4 inch forward, giving the car a fractionally longer wheelbase. The lower front air intake also grows larger, the reshaped hood incorporates a functional vent, sill extensions protrude from the lower body, there are quad exhaust outlets, and the decklid sprouts a small ducktail spoiler. The optional AMG Performance Studio package adds a rear diffuser, a larger rear spoiler, and tweaks to the front fascia. The sum total of the changes gives this car some visual menace, and the available matte paint finish really helps that vibe. What Motivates the CLE53 The CLE53 doesn't follow the lead of the Mercedes-AMG C63 sedan, which employs a highly complex turbocharged four-cylinder plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Instead, it sticks with a turbocharged and supercharged inline-six. As in the CLE450, the turbo six is aided by a 48-volt hybrid system, but the AMG version kicks things up a notch. In the CLE53, it's energized with 443 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque—with an overboost function adding another 30 pound-feet for up to 10 seconds. Those are hearty increases over the Benz variant (375 horses, 369 pound-feet) and also represent a bump of 14 horses over the previous “53“ models. The extra output comes courtesy of a new electrically driven turbocharger that increases boost pressure and provides the overboost function. Additional changes include new piston rings and revamped inlet and outlet channels. While the rival BMW M4 offers a manual transmission, AMG has no interest in manuals, and there isn't one here. Shifting duties are handled by an AMG-modified nine-speed automatic that, unusually for AMG, retains a torque converter. Even without a clutch pack, however, it still incorporates a Race Start function, which is accessible in Sport mode and above, simply by holding the brake and mashing the gas. All-wheel drive is standard, as it is in all CLE models, and AMG's rear-biased system can decouple the front axle and send 100 percent of the grunt rearward. Spec the AMG Dynamic Plus package, and you get a Race drive mode in addition to Comfort, Sport, Sport , Individual, and Slippery. Within Race, a Drift function can be unlocked, though it's a multistep procedure. The package also includes adaptive engine mounts and red brake calipers. All CLE53s have the same brake hardware, however, with vented front discs squeezed by four-piston calipers and vented rear discs. An AMG Driver's package available in other markets raises the speed limiter from 155 mph to 168 mph, but it won't be offered in the U.S. Driving the CLE53 The boosted six fires up without the throat-clearing of AMG's V-8s, and even with the active exhaust switched into its more vocal program, there's only the faintest burble when lifting off the throttle. Still, the engine sounds great as it climbs the tach, and we don't miss the theatricality—although some might. The powertrain is plenty strong, with AMG quoting a zero-to-60-mph time and 4.0 seconds with Race Start. That strikes us as conservative; we expect a number in the high threes. Read More
