Coupes—not four-doors falsely labeled as such with sleeker rooflines—but genuine, two-door coupes, have always been a special breed. With a lineage tracing back to block-long Duesenbergs and big-engined Cadillacs, this automotive subset possesses undeniable associations to heightened prestige and enhanced performance. Just ask a new-car salesperson: it may be practical sedans and SUVs that people need, but it’s sexy two-door coupes and convertibles that pull them into the showroom.
A profusion of SUVs has threatened genuine coupes with extinction. Witness the Mercedes-Benz lineup, which, until recently, featured coupe options in S-Class, E-Class, and C-Class variations, but has since narrowed down to just a pair of two-door models: the AMG GT, and the just-revealed CLE Coupe. In contrast to the dozen or so available Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicles (including so-called “Coupe” versions of those SUVs), the weight of expectation lays heavy on the new CLE.
For a closer look at this narrowing genre, we deconstructed the brand’s latest CLE with its designers and engineers and sampled four classic Mercedes-Benz coupes. Here’s what we found. While the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE sounds like a combination of the C-Class and E-Class coupes it replaces, it’s positioned as a larger, more upscale version of the latter model. At first blush, it presents itself with more assertive muscularity and sculpted form than models like the smoother, less heavily defined SL convertible and E-Class sedan; whereas those models seem shaped to cheat the wind, the CLE’s power-dome hood, sharply creased character lines, and curved haunches add an element of three-dimensionality that’s simply lacking in those other models.
Measuring nearly 16 feet (191 inches, to be precise) from bow to stern, the CLE stacks up as the largest coupe in the midsize segment. Slightly lower than the outgoing E-Class but a full two inches wider than the C-Class, and with a longer wheelbase, the CLE is more hunkered down while increasing rear passenger space and providing a trunk that’s big enough to store three golf bags. One of my favorite features, glimpsed during an in-person viewing of the car, is the single, gentle arc that spans from the roofline all the way down to the slightly-outward-nudging rear spoiler, and the slight upward kink in the rear window that counters that curve. On the other hand, one annoyance I encountered was the flat plastic surface—dotted with three-dimensional Mercedes-Benz logos—along the lower front fascia. Why incorporate the cheap looking stuff when the grille above it looks, well, relatively more premium?
As for the interior, the CLE’s tapered seat design combines conventional quilted upholstery with a modern, sculpted shape. There’s no shortage of tech in the new coupe, from the 12.3-inch instrument panel and portrait-oriented 11.9-inch central display to the two speakers embedded in each headrest to round out the 17-speaker Burmester sound system with Dolby Atmos surround. Nicely finished details include seats that unlock and fold with a Nappa leather strap, and solid-feeling materials. Thankfully absent, in my opinion, is Mercedes-Benz’s hyper-electronic MBUX Hyperscreen, which typically dominates the entire length of the dashboard with pixels.
The techy hardware is complemented by a series of AI-fueled computing tasks that are designed to automate comfort-related functions, like processes that learn when to suggest actions such as climate control settings, GPS routes, and music selections. The stateside market will get the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive configuration, with the option of a 255 hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, or a 3.0-liter six-cylinder with 375 hp.
To fully comprehend the present, it’s important to consider the past. With that in mind, the Mercedes-Benz Museum brought four paragons of peak coupe to the CLE preview event in Salzburg, Austria, to complement the upcoming CLE with some historical context.
Full disclosure: As the owner of two old school Mercedes-Benz coupes (a ’94 S600 and an ’02 CLK430), I’m slightly biased towards the classics. That said, the 1972 280C on hand—towards which I’m also biased because ’72 is my birth year—looks, feels, and drives like nothing on the market today. Paul Bracq’s serene-yet-brutalist styling couples with a feeling of solidity that makes this lengthy two-door feel weighty and substantial. Driving the 280C delivers fantastic straight-line comfort, with its carbureted straight-six-cylinder engine offering smooth, mellow power that’s commensurate with the well-damped suspension. Corners are not this vehicle’s strong point, though, as it feels as wallowy as a waterbed in the bends. But as far as styling, it doesn’t get much more singular than this 70s-era Benz.
Leaping to the Eighties, the 1983 230CE marks an era when the triple-pointed star disregarded the fashions of the day and built blocky sedans and coupes seemingly carved out of solid hunks of metal. Though this gasoline-powered spinoff veers from the W123’s signature diesel and turbodiesel power plants, Bruno Sacco’s minimalist design captures a simplicity that’s sorely lacking today. Sharing pillarless window openings with the W114 series before it (and the W124 that followed), the 230CE presents itself with an air of honesty and zero pretense. Its understated performance forces the driver to focus on the leisurely experience of getting from A to B in a vehicle that’s so durable and overengineered, it’s been referred to as the “Million-Mile Benz.”
With the Nineties came the 1991 230CE, which marked a notable transition into a flush, clean design language. It also represented a milestone in the upmarketing of the two-door coupe. While some 2.6 million examples of the 124 series Mercedes-Benz were built, only two percent of those were U.S.-spec 300CE coupes. And its then-stratospheric starting price of $52,000, which translates to $120,000 adjusted to inflation in 2023, made it a dark horse in the luxury-car game. While the immaculate purple example we tested was powered by a mild, 132 hp four-cylinder, a hot-rodded AMG Hammer version of this elegant model recently commanded a cool $761,800, proving the enduring appeal of limited-production coupe spinoffs.
The aughts might not have been Mercedes-Benz’s most revered era when it comes to build quality, but what the 2001 CLK55 AMG lacks in hewn-from-an-ingot solidity it makes up for in driving dynamics and on-road presence. Stepping forward in modernity, the Michael Fink–penned coupe wraps around the cabin more intimately than previous iterations. While there’s a bit more plastic in the interior than we’d like, the 347 hp V-8, mated to a five-speed automatic gearbox, steps performance up to the next level, while bolstered suspension lends this Benz a degree of handling tenacity that its predecessors could only dream of.
In contrast to these four old-school Mercedes-Benz coupes, the new CLE ties a common thread together: though they may be less popular than ever, real two-doors exude a very different, more involving character than bigger, taller-sitting four-doors, crossovers, and SUVs. There’s something about climbing into the driver’s seat of a two-door coupe or convertible that brings out the enthusiast in us, and makes the experience more about the journey than the destination. Though we wish manufacturers would offer a wider selection of such specimens, we’re glad Mercedes-Benz has put the time and energy it has into enabling the CLE to carry the torch for this endangered species.
Click here for more photos of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe.
