A trend started with the first Mercedes-Benz C-Class that is only now ending

It was May 1993 when Mercedes-Benz presented the long-awaited successor to the iconic W201 Mercedes 190 to the world. The new and first C-class had a more rounded appearance that – from the front, then – quite resembled that of the W201, but was also completely different at the same time. The ladies and gentlemen from Stuttgart thought the time was right for a breath of fresh air, after the predecessor of the C-class – as well as its bigger brothers E- and S-class – had for years adhered to a classic design with, among other things, predominantly straight-lined lighting.

That changed in the 1990s. In 1995 the W210 introduced the double round headlights to the E-class and in ’98 it was the fourth generation S-class that had to forget the granite-hewn shapes of the W140 ‘Cathedral’. That didn’t really work out in the end. The S, E and C-class presented in the nineties all three certainly did not end up as the most acclaimed model generations, but in the case of the W202 C-class we owe something to those model years. And those are the first ‘modern’ AMGs.

Here’s the thing: AMG was already a tuner of racing engines in the 1960s and in the decades that followed also took care of boosting street-legal Mercedes. The W202 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG, as the first AMG variant of the C-class was called, was therefore not ‘the first AMG’. However, it was the first AMG that came on the market as a production model. Mercedes-Benz and AMG started their official collaboration in 1993, after AMG’s work had become increasingly popular in the years before.

The first modern AMG had a modest butt.

Official collaboration

Mercedes-Benz also saw this, and so the two signed a cooperation agreement. It would take until 1999 before AMG was actually incorporated by Mercedes, but in 1993, as a result of official cooperation, the first AMGs rolled off Mercedes’ own production lines. It was the Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG that received the honor of being the first modern ‘Mercedes-AMG’; basically a pretty pepped up C280.

That model had a 2.8-liter six-in-line in its nose, which was enlarged by AMG to a displacement of 3.6 liters. The result was a power of 280 hp, which had to live up to the sporty pretensions of the tuner in conjunction with a slightly modified exterior. Bigger wheels, different side skirts and slightly modified bumper work ensured that only the fans from the very beginning knew that they were dealing with Mercedes’ first own AMG. Flared wheel arches, carbon fiber spoilers and the later characteristic four oval tailpipes were not used in 1993.

Not even when Mercedes-Benz and AMG thought a few years later that a V8 would also fit in the C-class. Regular versions had up to six cylinders, but according to the technicians at AMG it could all be a bit more. This initially resulted in the C43 AMG – with a 4.3-liter V8 – and later in the C55 AMG. That car had, yes, a 5.5-liter V8 just short of it. That block helped the ‘C’ in 1998 to a capacity of about 350 hp: more than the BMW M3 E46 had, a car that had not yet been revealed at all.

Both the W202 and S202 (the station wagon) were available as AMG.

Trend break

The W202 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG set a trend that the C-classes of later generations continued to follow. Time and time again, the C-class had larger and often more torquey engine blocks than the BMW and Audi counterparts. Not only around 2010, when all three brands installed a V8 in their performance D-segmenters (with Mercedes’ being by far the largest at 6.2 liters), but also during the previous model generation. Where Audi and BMW went from eight to six-cylinder again, Mercedes-Benz had another one with its V8 unique selling point in hands.

A USP that already emerged with the first generation of the C-class, which first appeared on the market 30 years ago. Unfortunately for eight-cylinder enthusiasts, the Germans recently said goodbye to the V8 block in the C-class. The new generation has half the cylinders, for the first time less than competitors RS4 and M3. Nevertheless, it is incredibly potent with 680 hp, but is that enough to keep enthusiasts warm?

The C43 AMG. Royalty-free photos of the W202 C55 AMG are as rare as the car itself.