Take a Mercedes compact, jam in an AMG tuned V8, and AMG tuned suspension and ... WOW!  And a complete sleeper (very little evidence from the outside of what is inside).

C430 and C43 AMG

 

Mercedes “C Class” CHASSIS (BODY)

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a compact executive car produced by the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler AG First introduced in 1993 as a replacement for the 190 range, the C-Class was nicknamed the "Baby Benz" as it was the smallest model in the marque's lineup (until the arrival of the A-Class in 1997). The C-Class is built at Mercedes-Benz factories in Sindelfingen and Bremen Germany, as well as in Mercedes's factories in Brazil and DaimlerChrysler's South African factory in East London. The very first W202 C-Class sedan was produced on June 1, 1993, and the second generation W203 C-Class rolled off the assembly line on July 18, 2000. The third generation W204 C-Class was launched in 2007.  The C-Class platform has been used for several coupes, including the CLC-Class (and its predecessor, the C-Class Sportcoupe and CLK-Class.  Many of the C Class were equipped with inline 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder and V6 engines. Until 1997 the V8 engine was not used.

Mercedes Benz Car Classes

Class	Intro	Use	Description
S Class	1965	Saloon	Luxury sedan
E Class	1986	Executive	Executive sedan
C Class	1993	Compact	Compact executive sedan “Baby Benz”
A Class	1997	Family	Small car

 C Class Varients

Chassis	Intro	Spotting	Wheelbase (in)
W202	1993	Square headlights	105.1
W203	2000	Round double headlights	106.9
W204	2007	Square swooped headlights	108.7

 C Class W202 Chassis Varients - All are 4 and 6 cylinder engines

Chassis	Chassis	Intro	Notes
C180	W202	1993
C190	W202	1993	Many used as taxis due to good fuel economy
C200	W202	1993
C220	W202	1996
C230	W202	1996
C280	W202	1996	Top of C line at the time
C250D	W202	1995
C250TD	W202	1995
C230 Kompressor	W202	1995	Supercharged
C200 Kompressor	W202	1995	Supercharged
C200CDI	W202	1996
C200 Kompressor T	W202	1996	Supercharged
C240T	W202	1996

C43 AMG (The first V8)

The Mercedes-Benz W202 C43 ///AMG version was introduced in late 1997 to replace the C36 AMG. Unlike the C36 the C43 is;

• POWERFUL. The C43 was the first C-Class to be equipped with a V8 engine.
• UNIQUE. Only 546 of these cars were imported into the US in 1999.
• FAST. Rated as “One of the Fastest Sedans in the World” – Fantasy Cars, 1999
• DESIREABLE. Motor Week “Car of the Week” –1999
• CUSTOM. The C43 was the first AMG car to be completely assembled at the AMG plant in Affalterbach

 

 

The new flagship for the C-Class in 1999 was the C 43 AMG, powered by a 4.3 L V8, which could achieve 306 PS (302 hp/225 kW) at 5850 rpm, with a torque of 410 N·m (302 lb·ft) at 3250 rpm (also available as a station wagon). This car is typically called "muscle car" reflecting the continuous race for power between the German car makers - and so represent the response from Mercedes-Benz AMG to the '96 version of the E36 BMW M3.

 

“Only 1,500 of these ultra-performance cars will be imported to the U.S. over a three-year period. Priced at $52,750, the mid-size C43 features a modified version of the new-generation V8 engine from the full-size E430 sedan. With higher-lift modular camshafts and a freer-flowing intake and exhaust system, horsepower is boosted to 302 (up 10 percent over the standard 275 hp figure) for superb overall performance, including 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.9 seconds.”  –Mercedes America April 22, 1998

 

This car was manufactured for a little more than two years – from end 1997 to spring 2000 for a total of 4'200 units – ratio 20% estate – 80% saloon.

 

Production

1998 579 units

1999 546 units

2000 25 units

Total C43s for the US Market = 1147 units

 

PERFORMANCE

Model	C43 AMG
EPA Fuel Economy – city	18
EPA Fuel Economy – highway	22
EPA Fuel Economy – observed	18
Coefficient of Drag (cd)	0.32
0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) (sec)	5.8
1/4 mile (E.T.)	14.2
Top speed	181

 

ENGINE

The Mercedes-Benz M113 (and similar M155) engine is a V8 automobile piston engine family used in the 2000s. It was based on the similar M112 V6 introduced in 1998. The standard Mercedes-Benz M113s are built in Untertürkheim, Germany, while the AMG E55 versions are assembled at AMG's Affalterbach, Germany plant. M113s have aluminum engine blocks and aluminum DOHC cylinder heads, but the supercharged M113 in the E55 uses SOHC cylinder heads. The cylinders are lined with silicon/aluminum, and the heads have 3 valves per cylinder. Other features include SFI fuel injection, fracture-split forged steel connecting rods, a one-piece cast camshaft, and a magnesium intake manifold.

 

All AMG engines are hand built, using a "one man, one engine" philosophy at the current AMG plant in Affalterbach, Germany. To signify this, each AMG engine builder stamps the engines they produce with an engraved plaque depicting their signature. The town of Affalterbach, just outside Stuttgart, is home to the Mercedes-AMG facility. Engines are hand-assembled on-site and partial construction of whole AMG models takes place with a workforce of about 400. -- Robert Allan, Mercedes-Benz USA AMG / designo / Special Vehicles Product Manager, December 30, 1999

 

On its debut, the C-Class was the only Mercedes model with a complete lineup of multi-valve engines. With the 1997 restyling, a lot of things changed under the hood of the Baby Benz. The standard engne, was the Mercedes-Benz M113 engine, a 4.3 L (4266 cc) version . Bore is 89.9 mm and stroke is 84 mm. Output is 279 hp (208 kW) at 5750 rpm with 295 ft·lbf (400 Nm) of torque at 3000-4400 rpm. The variant used in the C43 ///AMG is uprated.

 

The C 43 ///AMG engine is a tuned version of the 4.3 liter M113 V8 engine originally found on the W210 E430 model. After modifications this engine deliver 306PS (225kW) at 5850rpm, up to 410Nm(302 lb/ft) of torque at 3250rpm-5'000rpm (taken at the crank) and up to 241EHP at 6320rpm measured at the wheels. According to Mercedes-Benz, the car can reach 155MPH (249km/h), with electronic speed limitation and 181MPH (291km/h) without.

 

Bloc engine (M113.944)

·                     4.3 liter (4'266cm³) (260 cubic inces) V8 longitudinal at 90° (made from aluminium alloy)

·                     Two single overhead (DSOHC) – lightweight camshaft (made from composite material)

·                     Cylinder with 89.9mm bore and 84mm stroke

·                     Compression ratio 10.0 : 1

·                     Two spark plugs per cylinder

·                     Three valves per cylinder – 2 intake 1 exhaust

·                     Wide air intake manifold with long magnesium intake tubes

·                     Large fuel injector

·                     2x1 ACT timing distribution chain

 

Applications of the Bloc engine:

·                     1998-2003 CLK430

·                     1998-2002 E430

·                     1999-2001 ML430

·                     1998-2000 C43 AMG

·                     1999-2006 S430

 

Electronic fuel injection

·        Bosch Motronic (ME 2.0) fuel injection system

 

Exhaust system

·        Large exhaust system to optimise the flow area

·        New muffler that minimise the exhaust gas back pressure

·        Two catalytic converters near the engine and two underfloor (all made from ceramic material)

 

TRANSMISSION/POWERTRAIN

Transmission is an AMG-modified version of the five speed automatic gearbox found on 1998-2000 R129 SL 500. Main modifications were made in order to achieve a more crisper and better adapted gearbox to higher-rpm upshifts. At the launch all W202 variants were equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The 722.4 4-speed automatic transmission, also called 4G-TRONIC, was available as extra cost (standard on the C36///AMG). In 1996 this old transmission - which was on sale since 1981 - was replaced by a 5-speed automatic gearbox (aka 722.5 or 5G-TRONIC), which received the manual shifting in 1999 (722.6) and used in the C43///AMG. In 2000 the T-Modell, the only still on sale, was equipped with the G56 6-speed manual transmission. 1997 ASR became standard in the C 280s equipped with the automatic transmission and in the C36 AMG

 

Transmission (722.631)

·        Manumatic gearbox with full automatic and manual speed selector positions

·        'Winter' and 'Standard' positions button. 'Winter' starts in 2nd and upshifts more quickly when used as a full automatic gearbox.

·        1st gear 3.59

·        2nd gear 2.19

·        3rd gear 1.41

·        4th gear 1.00

·        5th gear 0.83

 

SUSPENSION FRONT

·        Double Independent double wishbone with coil springs, gas-pressurized shock absorbers and stabilizer bar. bars

·        AMG-Bilstein shock absorbers

 

SUSPENSION REAR

·        Rear 5-arm multilink AMG calibrated suspension with coil springs, and stabilizer bar.

·        AMG-Bilstein shock absorbers

 

BRAKES

·        Four channel 300mm ventilated discs brake at the front

·        Four channel 289mm ventilated discs brake in the rear

·        Bosch ESP – ABS and TCS Taken from the W210 E 55 AMG. 

 

WHEELS AND TIRES

·        Wheel Type Aluminum Alloy ///AMG monoblock

·        Front : P225/45 ZR17

·        Rear : P245/40 ZR17

 

Measurement and capacity

·        Wheelbase 2670 mm (105.1 in)

·        Length 4505 mm (177.4 in)

·        Width 1720 mm (67.7 in)

·        Height 1425 mm (56.1 in)

·        Weight : 1'570Kg for the sedan and 1'610Kg for the estate version

·        Trunk volume : 430liters

·        Tank volume : 62liters without the optional expansion unit

 

Optional equipment

·        Xenon HID low beam headlights

·        Blaupunkt navigation system with a ten cd changer

·        Retractable side view mirrors

·        Rain sensor

·        Designo interior

·        Electric rear window sun shade

·        Tank expansion unit

 

INTERIOR

Black leather and dark burl walnut trim. White ///AMG gauges. Black leather shift know with benz star and the “sport” logo.

 

STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS

Base Price               $ 53,000

Price As Tested          $ 55,065

Engine Type              aluminum alloy single overhead cam

                         24-valve V8Engine

Size                     4.3 liters / 260 cu. in.

Horsepower               302 @ 5,850 rpm

Torque (lb-ft)           302 @ 3,250-5,000 rpm

Transmission             5-speed electronically-controlled automatic

Wheelbase / Length       105.9 in. / 177.4 in.

Curb Weight              3,448 lbs.Pounds Per Horsepower 11.4

Fuel Capacity            16.4 gal.

Fuel Requirement         unleaded premium (92 octane)

Tires                    Michelin Pilot SX Front: P225/45 ZR17

                                           Rear: P245/40 ZR17

Brakes             

front/rear               vented disc / vented disc, antilock,

                         traction control and Electronic Stability

                         Program traction enhancement standard

Suspension, front/rear   independent double wishbone & coil springs/

                         independent multi-link, AMG suspension calibration

Drivetrain               front engine, rear-wheel drive

 

PERFORMANCE

EPA Fuel Economy - miles per gallon city / highway / observed 18 / 22 / 18

                         0 to 60 mph 5.9 sec1/4 mile (E.T.)14.2 sec

Coefficient of Drag (cd) 0.32

 

OPTIONS AND CHARGES

                         Rain Sensor             $ 170

                         Headlamp washer/wipers  $ 340

                         Xenon headlamps         $ 960

                         Destination & delivery charge $ 595