A-Class Concept: Can Mercedes Sell a Premium Small Car Here

A-Class Concept: Can Mercedes Sell a Premium Small Car Here 

The A-Class concept does two things for Mercedes-Benz. It hints at what kind of premium small car we’ll finally get from the brand in the United States, and it hints at a new, better design direction for the full lineup.

Mercedes will launch a next-generation A-Class in Europe late this year, though it won’t necessarily be this elegant two-door hatchback. The A-Class will be a lineup of four cars, with different bodystyles, including at least one using the current A’s flat powertrain that fits under the seats. The “sandwich” engines may include battery packs and other alternative powertrains, not just internal combustion engines.
Though in concept form, it has no powertrain, the A-Class shown here is designed for a 2.0-liter turbo gas direct-injection four, a new engine based on Mercedes’ 1.8-liter and mounted transversely for the first time, and conventionally ahead of the firewall in this model. The car also is designed to fit a new twin-clutch automated seven-speed manual Mercedes soon will launch. The company isn’t talking horsepower yet, though the 1.8-liter turbo in the new C-Class coupe is rated 250 horsepower.
So the A-Class finally is coming to the United States, though not as early as its Fall ’11 European launch. We’d bet the first A-Class imported here will be something like this concept, without the big, bulgy wheels and nearly all-glass roof. Mercedes officials keep calling it a “premium small car,” so it might not get the A-Class name. Don’t expect to see it until well into 2012