Mercedes-AMG CLE 63 Coupé caught: with four-cylinder?

The current generation of the C-class and the next generation of the E-class share Mercedes’ MRA II platform. The upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLE will also be on that platform: a car that will be on the market in both coupé and convertible form. The CLE on its own should make both those body styles of the previous C and current E forget. The brand does not dust off the CLK name for the new model, although the coupé that sits between the C and E was previously called that. By using the name CLE, Mercedes instinctively places the coupé or convertible closer to the E than to the C. But what does that mean for the engine range?

In any case, the current C-class only comes with four-cylinder. Recently, the Germans presented the C63 S E-performance. With a power of 680 hp, that is absolutely no help, although that top model also uses a four-cylinder that does not appeal to the imagination. The fact that the new C and next E-class share their base does not necessarily mean that the next E-class will only come with four-cylinders. Earlier, the successor of the AMG E53 was already packed, for which we bet on the presence of another six-cylinder. There is therefore no tailgate to be seen on the spy plates of that car. But the CLE in these photos does have one.

Now Mercedes-AMG – apart from the AMG One – has so far two plug-in hybrid powertrains in its range: the V8 from the GT 4-door 63 S E performance, and the new four-cylinder from the C63. Since the last of the two in the hitherto known form already produces 680 hp, we bet that that powertrain will also be in the CLE 63 spotted here. Or would that mean that the next E-class AMG will also get a four-cylinder? Probably not. Mercedes-AMG may still come with a performance-oriented plug-in powertrain with a six-in-line, although the horsepower professors from Affalterbach and Stuttgart previously indicated that they did not want to get rid of the V8 for the time being.