Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 Revealed In EPA Files

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documents can be drier than the heatwaves it says it’s trying to protect us from, but we’ve just see one that’s as unputtdownable as a blockbuster novel.
 

The paperwork covers applications for vehicle certification made by Mercedes-Benz for its 2024 model year lineup, and hidden in the mass of numbers, codes and innocuous data are some interesting facts about next year’s Mercs that Benz would rather we didn’t know.
 
We’ll start with a hat tip to Car & Driver, who seemed to have spotted the document first and analyzed its 86 pages, revealing that a wagon version of the newly announced E-Class will make it to America next year, but only in E450 All Terrain guise. That means it’ll feature body cladding, raised suspension and only be available with mild-hybrid six-cylinder power. C & D also spotted that the new two-door CLE would be available for 2024 in both coupe and convertible forms.
 
But dig a little deeper and there’s plenty more useful info. We can see, for instance, that both the entry-level four-cylinder CLE 300 and six-cylinder CLE450 will get 4Matic all-wheel drive, as will the AMG CLE 53, which the document confirms as having a mild-hybrid twin-turbo inline six, and not an inline four like the C43 and PHEV C63.
 
The CLE 53’s M256-30DETC-S1 engine code is the exact same one listed for the AMG GLE 53 that was unveiled at the start of this year, which suggests it’s making the same 429 hp (435 PS) and 413 lb-ft (560 Nm) as the SUV. That power figure is the same as on the departing AMG E53 coupe, but torque is boosted from 384 lb-ft (521 Nm).
 
There’s no mention of a plug-in hybrid CLE, AMG or otherwise, which might mean the spy shots we’ve seen of coupes and convertibles with a charging flap relate to the even hotter 63 models due later, which don’t feature on the 2024 lineup, at least not according to this document.
 
Also missing is any AMG version of the new E-Class sedan, but the file does confirm that Mercedes will offer the new two-door GT, the coupe sister to the SL, for 2024. Two versions will be offered, badged 55 and 63, just like the SL, and using the same 469 hp (476 PS) and 577 hp (585 PS) versions of the M177 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, giving 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) respectively.
 
But while the SL is also available in 43 trim powered by a 375 hp (381 PS) 2.0-liter inline four, there’s no equivalent listed for the AMG GT coupe, and no sign of a PHEV flagship either. We might have to wait until 2025 for AMG to top and tail the GT range and unleash the E53 and E63 sedans on North American roads.