2018 Geneva Motor Show: Mercedes-AMG C43 facelift delivers 287kW sedan and wagon

AN UPDATED Mercedes-AMG C43 sedan with more power, revised styling and a heavily overhauled interior has been revealed on the eve of its reveal at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.

Both the C43 sedan and estate body styles will inherit a round of upgrades including a 17kW power bump for the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine that lifts outputs to 287kW and 520Nm via the fitment of the Mercedes E43’s larger turbos.

Exterior changes for the C43 include AMG’s twin-blade grille previously reserved for V8 models, which is making its way onto the nose of the brand’s entry-level performance cars. An aerodynamically improved front bumper adds a reworked apron design and channels that duct air to either side of the car and around the wheel faces to improve fuel efficiency.

Multi-beam LED headlights that can shut off individual sections of the beam to avoid dazzling other drivers are offered as standard equipment and, like the E-Class, now feature 84 individual LED chips for greater light output.

An aggressive, gloss black diffuser incorporating a quartet of exhaust tips is added to the rear as part of a fresh bumper design. An AMG representative said a decision was made to give the C43 its own distinctive appearance rather than the same bumpers as other C-Class models fitted with the AMG Line styling kit.

Two new wheel designs have been added in 18- and 19-inch sizes, both optimised for aerodynamic efficiency in a wind tunnel by AMG engineers who also considered weight and brake cooling properties.

Interior upgrades include the introduction of AMG’s new Performance steering wheel, and heated and cooled electric-adjust front seats taken from the AMG GTC Roadster.

The C43 is the first C-Class-based AMG product to be shown since the regular series model’s facelift was announced. That makeover brought a raft of improvements to the car’s interior, which also feature here, including a fully digital dashboard designed to fit within the regular instrument cluster outline rather than the tablet-style screens seen in E-Class, S-Class and the impending A-Class models.

The C43’s nine-speed automatic gearbox remains unchanged, as does the 4Matic all-wheel-drive setup with its fixed, rear-biased torque split of 31:69.

The updated C43 sedan and estate will be available in Australia from October 2018.