Inherited agility. Comprehending the C-Class

Experience a new generation of agility with the C-Class from Mercedes-Benz. An automobile crafted for speed, the C-Class provides thrills like no other. Confident yet captivating, the C-Class is the perfect blend of sportiness and state-of-the-art innovations.

Available in petrol and diesel variants, the C-Class delivers uncompromising efficiency in an automobile that impresses in every detail.  While the C-Class rolled out initially in 1993, we’ve never stopped perfecting it since. Its subsequent iterations have resulted in a car that is the true harbinger of speed. The 7G-TRONIC 7-speed automatic transmission ensures that the C-Class makes its mark both on the track and off it. Its proven record of wins cumulated with the 2010 DTM championship where a C-Class took first place in nine out of eleven DTM races.

Styled to exhilarate as much as it accelerates, the C-Class is easy to pick out from the crowd with a powerful and provocative front section. This styling is carried even within with the dashboard, surfaces and trims that espouse speed at every corner. The result is an automobile that looks like its speeding even when at a standstill. 

This speed comes with features that ensure a responsible drive. BlueEFFICIENCY technologies ensure reduced emissions while a slew of safety features like ATTENTION ASSIST, AGILITY CONTROL and Intelligent Light System ensure for a safe drive. The result, a perfect combination in a car that delivers agility, style and substance.  The Mercedes-Benz blog explores facets of this amazing automobile right here in subsequent posts. Stay tuned.

Thriller of a race, final lap, final corner: Jamie Green wins

• Fourth Norisring win for Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé)
• Tenth Mercedes victory in a row at the Norisring and 168th triumph in 347 DTM races since 1988
• Championship leader Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) moves 18 places up the field after no-fault spin to extend lead in standings
• Second place in championship for Green
• Mercedes-Benz maintains lead in all three classifications – drivers, teams and manufacturers
• Five C-Coupés finish in Top 10
  

Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) won the fifth DTM race of the 2012 season in Nuremberg by a margin of 0.687 seconds, after overtaking Martin Tomczyk (BMW) in spectacular style on the latest corner at the final lap. This was Green’s eighth victory in his DTM career and his fourth at the Norisring, i.e. half of his winner’s trophies have been collected at this one venue (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012). It was also the Englishman’s 19th podium in 79 DTM outings.

The Norisring fixture has proved to be the most productive on the race calendar for Mercedes-Benz. Green’s latest win was also the 15th for Mercedes on this street circuit in Nuremberg and the tenth in succession. Since the DTM series was revived in the year 2000, Mercedes-Benz drivers have won twelve out of 14 races staged at the Norisring (a win rate of 85.71%). Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz has now won 168 DTM races since first fielding a works team in 1988.

By finishing fourth, Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) has boosted his championship points tally to 95 and further consolidated his lead in the standings to 26 points ahead of second-placed Jamie Green. Paffett’s THOMAS SABO / Mercedes-Benz Bank outfit leads the team standings on 119 points, while Mercedes-Benz tops the constructors’ standings on 211 points.

A total of five C-Coupé drivers finished in the Top 10; apart from Green and Paffett, David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé) and Robert Wickens (stern AMG Mercedes C-Coupé) secured positions five, eight and nine respectively. Coulthard and Wickens achieved their best ever result so far in the DTM.

Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) was 13th, Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) and Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) did not finish.

Jamie Green produced the fastest race lap, 54.451 seconds. For race winner Green, this was the 13th fastest lap in his DTM career and his third this season. Since 1988, Mercedes-Benz drivers have posted the fastest lap in some 165 races, including 16 at the Norisring.

Overall, 135.000 fans attended the DTM race weekend in Nuremberg.

Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series is the new DTM Safety Car

A further highlight of the 2012 DTM season in addition to the spectacular new Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé will be the DTM Safety Car: right from the off, C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series will be providing the necessary safety for the world's most popular touring car series. With a maximum output of 380 kW (517 hp), this two-seater is the most powerful C-Class of all time. The German Touring Car Masters (DTM) gets underway at the Hockenheimring on 29 April 2012.

The Safety Car is deployed under the direction of the German Motorsport Association (DMSB), which is responsible for implementing safety measures, ensuring compliance with safety standards and discharging the attendant official sporting functions in accordance with the DTM rules. The C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series Safety Car driven by racing driver Jürgen Kastenholz (44) is intended to ensure maximum safety for racing drivers, spectators and track marshals in case of dangerous situations, such as extreme weather conditions, accidents or other incidents. In response to a radio message from the race organizers, the Safety Car enters the track and leads the DTM field around the circuit until normal racing can be resumed.

The most powerful C-Class of all time stands for spectacular design, technology transfer from the field of motorsport and driving dynamics of the very highest caliber. As such, the C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series only required modification to a few points of detail for deployment as the DTM Safety Car. The most striking feature distinguishing it from the series production version is the aerodynamically optimized light bar on the roof. Energy-efficient, fast-response LEDs in green and orange keep the DTM racing drivers informed of the current situation.

DTM Safety Car provided by Mercedes-AMG since 2000

Mercedes-AMG has been providing the Safety Car ever since the beginning of the "new" DTM in 2000, alternating with Audi from race to race – and since 2012 with BMW also. In the Formula 1 World Championship, an SLS AMG is deployed as an Official F1 Safety-Car and a C 63 AMG Estate serves as an Official F1 Medical Car.

Victory in DTM Debut Race

Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) wins season opener at Hockenheim in first race of new DTM era

• First win in first race for DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé
  
• 100th one-two victory in the DTM for Mercedes-Benz
• 166th victory in 343 DTM races for Mercedes-Benz
• Mercedes-Benz scoops 65 of the 101 points available with five C-Coupé drivers in the Top 8
• Sixth Hockenheim victory (opening and closing races of season) in succession for Mercedes-Benz

Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) won the 2012 DTM season opener at Hockenheim from sixth place on the grid with a 4.7- second lead on Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé). It was Paffett’s 18th Victory in the DTM and his fourth at Hockenheim. It was the British driver’s 26th podium in the 82nd DTM race of his career and his seventh in a DTM race at Hockenheim. With 18 wins and a winning rate of 22%, Paffett has achieved the greatest number of victories among those drivers currently contesting the DTM. Paffett and Green secured the 100th one-two victory for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM since 1988.

It was the sixth consecutive Mercedes victory at their home race in Hockenheim (opener and finale), and their third win in a row at a DTM season opener (Paffett 2010 and 2012, and Bruno Spengler, 2011). Overall since 1988, Mercedes-Benz has won 32 of 65 DTM races at the Hockenheimring. During the same period, Mercedes-Benz drivers were victorious 166 times in 343 DTM races.

Paffett’s victory was the first success in the new DTM era in the three-way battle between the three premium brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz and the first victory for the new DTM Mercedes AMG C Coupé, the successor to the AMG Mercedes C-Class, which is the most successful vehicle in the history of the DTM with 85 victories in 159 races.

Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé) advanced from 15th on the grid to finish fourth. Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) and David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) were also amongst the points, finishing seventh and eighth respectively. Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) and Robert Wickens (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) ended the day in twelfth and 14th positions. DTM rookie Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) was forced to retire from the race.

Jamie Green set the fastest lap with a time of 1:34.901 minutes – the sixth time he has done so at Hockenheim. It is also the 36th time in 65 DTM races at this venue that a Mercedes-Benz driver has posted the fastest lap time. Nine of the last ten fastest laps here were set by a Mercedes-Benz driver.

A total of 142,000 fans attended the DTM opener at Hockenheim this weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun). Some 71,000 spectators were at the track for Sunday’s first race of the new DTM era.

Karl Wendlinger

Racing driver Karl Wendlinger (Austria) is now part of the Mercedes-AMG team. The 43 year-old will be on hand at AMG events as a new AMG brand ambassador, alongside DTM championship record holder Bernd Schneider and David Coulthard. Karl Wendlinger will also be bolstering the team at the AMG Driving Academy as an instructor and supporting the SLS AMG GT3 Customer Sport teams.

Karl Wendlinger

SLS AMG GT3 customer teams can book Karl Wendlinger for test or racing sessions as part of the driver support programme from AMG Customer Sports and draw on his great knowledge as a sports car expert. The 43 year-old will be supporting his colleagues Bernd Schneider and Thomas Jäger, who have accompanied the SLS AMG GT3 throughout its entire development and testing programme. Jäger has been working as a coordinator for AMG Customer Sports since 2010.

In his new role for Mercedes-AMG, Karl Wendlinger will be on hand as a point of contact at press and customer events. As a new member of the AMG Driving Academy's team of instructors, he will also be on location at race tracks. Here too, he will join forces with Bernd Schneider and Thomas Jäger, who belong to the AMG Driving Academy's core team, along with Bernd Mayländer (driver of the official F1™ Safety Car).

Return to the Mercedes fold

For Karl Wendlinger, this collaboration marks a return to the Mercedes fold: from 1990 to 1991 the Austrian was a member of the Mercedes junior team competing in the sports car world championship along with Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. In 1991 he switched to Formula 1. In 1994, Wendlinger raced for the Sauber-Mercedes team alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen. "I'm happy to be returning to the Mercedes family," says Karl Wendlinger. "I'm looking forward to many joint projects with AMG. I'm relishing the opportunity to work alongside Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jäger and David Coulthard at selected AMG events."

"We are proud to welcome such a successful racing driver as Karl Wendlinger to the AMG team," says Ola Källenius, Chairman of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. "Karl Wendlinger is the likeable sort of character with whom people are keen to talk at our AMG events. His comprehensive technical knowledge and driving expertise will also be a boon to the AMG Driving Academy and the SLS AMG GT3 customer teams."

Successful career in sports car racing

Karl Wendlinger's motor sport career began in go-carting at the age of 14. In 1989 he won the German Formula 3 Championship. He subsequently competed in the DTM, Formula 3000 and the 24-hour Le Mansrace. After retiring from Formula 1, Karl Wendlinger raced in various touring and sports car series. His most outstanding successes on the race track include winning the FIA GT Championship (1999), 1st place in the 24-hour Le Mans race in the GTS-Class (in the same year), overall victory in the 24-hour Daytona racein 2000 and 2nd place in the 24-hour Nürburgring race (2003). Karl Wendlinger raced for various teams in the FIA GT Championship from 2004 to 2011. In 2007 he was runner-up with Jetalliance Racing.