….and it’s got a twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, not a four
Stonking looking thing, isn’t it? That’s significant, as we shall see. But first a moment on the CLE itself. It’s probably passed you by. It replaced both the C-Class coupe and E-Class coupe a few months back, equipped with a range of ordinary mild hybrid petrol engines and even a diesel or two.
But obviously Merc wasn’t going to leave it there. The outgoing C-Class coupe spawned one of our favourite ever AMGs, the C63 S coupe, complete with a 503bhp twin turbo V8. It rocked. And now… well, now there’s hope.
The car you’re looking at is the new Mercedes-AMG CLE 53. Under its bonnet sits a 3.0-litre straight six with mild hybrid, developing 443bhp and 442lb ft. It uses a single conventional exhaust gas turbocharger and another electrically driven compressor. That’s there for initial response, cutting lag, and also allows the exhaust blower to be bigger because it doesn’t need to respond so hard and fast. Boost pressure climbs from 1.1 to 1.5 bar.
A small electric motor is included, delivering up to 23bhp and 151lb ft, that’s not just helping with power, but assists with recuperation, sailing and stop-start.
