Mercedes-Benz has teased its upcoming all-new CLA, a second-generation version of the small four-door coupe that’s very much related to the still-fresh A-Class. In a very dark image uploaded to the company’s official social media channels that reveals precious little, we can see that the car retains its familiar roof and shoulder line.
Notably, the way the tail end trails into the darkness reveal a resemblance to the third-generation Mercedes-Benz CLS. However, apart from that, we can only assume the car to share the same face and front quarter with the A-Class hatch.
The company will be unveiling the next-generation CLA at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2019, following up on this year’s appearance where they unveiled their MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) in-car interface. It is unusual for an automaker to devote a car’s full unveil at a technology-focused event, but perhaps that speaks to how much they are keen to emphasise the geeky new features debuting in the CLA.
At this point, we just don’t know as the final product will likely not have a huge technological disparity between other models. That said, perhaps the Benz already has too many other announcements lined up for other key points along the automotive calendar for early 2019 such as the Detroit Motor Show, the Tokyo Auto Salon, and the Geneva Motor Show.
It is also possible that the company intends to showcase an even more impressive future version of the MBUX system within a pre-production CLA alongside the production version, explaining the choice of venue.
Mechanically, there should very little to zero deviation from the A-Class hatch, matching the wide variety of engine, drivetrain, and trim options. Perhaps we will also get a glimpse at the hotted-up CLA35 or CLA45 from AMG.
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