After Mercedes-Benz decided to make the AMG a different brand, it renamed all of its AMG-based vehicles, and the former C450 AMG became C43.
Mercedes-AMG had to increase its sales figures, and for that, it needed a vehicle with a lower price. But it didn’t do that by just renaming a common version of the C-Class. It took the hard way and created a new vehicle. The C43 sat between the regular C-Class and the C63 AMG, and it tried to attain a balance between performance and price.

From the outside, there were specific design cues for the C43. At the front, it featured the specific “diamond” 3D grille with silver spots and a horizontal bar to support the three-pointed star in the middle. On the lower side, the grille was painted in silver. From the sides, it didn’t feature the same flared arches as its more powerful brother. In the rear, the quad exhaust pipes were discretely masked next to the silver splitter. To complete the subtle design changes, AMG installed a lip-spoiler on the trunk-lid.

Inside, the AMG unleashed its imagination and created a sport-oriented cabin with sport-bucket seats at the front. It installed carbon-fiber trims, and sport-bucket seats enhanced the sporty look. The aluminum paddle-shifters behind the flat-bottom steering wheel completed the race-inspired elements.

Under the hood, AMG installed a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo engine. It was paired as standard to a newly developed 9-speed automatic gearbox and sent the power to all corners.