2021 Mercedes-Benz C-Class W206 Spied Dressed In Blue Ready For World Premiere

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz brand is currently on a cost-cutting and profit-increasing offensive that will lead to the axing of several niche models from its lineup, all while improving the core models, including the entry-level C-Class.
 

Last we checked in on the next-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class, it was still wearing a full suit of camouflage. Today, we see more blue paint and body than we do coverings. Mercedes can’t be too far away from fully revealing the car at this stage in the game.
 

Off the top, the new C-Class looks to have much more aggressive creasing to its body lines. The main shoulder line running down the sides of the car was even with the door handles in height previously. This same line rides above the door handles and closer to the windows in the new C. The gentle upward curving crease toward the bottom of the doors is straightened into an angled line. And the hood changes from mostly flat to muscular and bulging. Despite this model looking nothing like an AMG model, its hood looks closer to that of the AMG C 63 than it does a standard C 300.
 

Its front end is well and truly camouflaged, but we can see the signature Mercedes headlights peaking through. The LED running light design is exactly what we’d expect to see from any new Mercedes product with its simple and elegant look. Mercedes has cut off the grille, but it looks unfinished and disguised for now. Though, the horizontally crossing bar is classic Mercedes, and we fully expect to see that in production.
 

In the back we can see the sedan’s vertical taillights are going horizontal for the redesign. The little strips of red light extending into the trunk guarantee it. Of course, both the Coupe and Convertible already had horizontally-oriented taillights. Its lighting design inside the taillights remind of the dashed lines within the refreshed E-Class lights. Unless Mercedes is going to switch up the rear bumper for production, it also looks like the C-Class will have a hidden exhaust design — there are no cutouts, and it appears to exit straight down under the bumper on this tester.
 

We don’t have a solid reveal date to share with you yet, but this tester’s state of dress tells us it’s coming soon. All 2021 C-Class info is already out, so we could be looking at a 2022 model for the non-AMG C-Class variants. We suspect the new AMG C 43 and C 63/C 63 S could come soon (perhaps a year) after the standard models are released.