2026 Mercedes CLE Coupe Is Getting The Big New Grille & V8 Power

Mercedes is readying a mid-life update for yet another of its models. The CLE coupe and its convertible sibling are due to pick up a few new design trinkets late in 2026 or in early 2027. Despite the test car we’ve spied having its nose fully covered, our new images do reveal some fairly major changes hiding under the cladding.
 

Looking at the front-end, we can see a new set of headlights with the brand’s three-pointed star lighting signature mounted within them. But look a little closer and the Mercedes looks to be swapping to its controversial new grille design, as first seen on the GLC with EQ Technology.
 

While this car is obviously still in a prototype phase, there’s a clear outline of a much larger and lower-set grille that will extend right down to the base of the bumper. As well as being deeper, it’ll also be narrower than the existing grille, giving the new Mercedes CLE a totally new face in-line with its newer models.
 
The grille is unlikely, however, to be quite as brightly lit as it is on Merc’s electric models, because it will need to be open to feed the required air into the combustion engines. This prototype shows further evidence of that.
 

The new CLE will enter production with a similar set of powertrains to the existing model, with one key exception – the CLE model’s first V8. As we’ve seen on multiple prototypes, AMG will reintroduce a V8 engine into some of its passenger car models, including a full-fat Mercedes-AMG CLE 63 variant. As it stands, AMG’s wide-body CLE 53 packs some serious suspension hardware, but features a mild-hybrid assisted six-cylinder engine that lacks the bite or charisma of previous performance flagships.
 
These changes will also be applied to the open-top convertible variant, and will join the range later this year or early next. It will continue to rival the BMW 4 Series in the mid-size coupe class, and in the case of the new CLE 63 AMG, also bring the firepower to once again properly rival the BMW M4 Competition.