Mercedes Is Bringing Back Luxury Convertibles With The AMG E 53 Cabriolet

• Mercedes-AMG E 53 4Matic+ Cabrio will debut on January 6. 

• It’s based on the three-door E-Class coupe sold overseas. 

• Powered by a 435PS 3-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine, nought to 100kmph in 4.5 seconds. 

• Likely to be priced from Rs 1.2-1.3 crore (ex-showroom). 

Currently, convertibles are a rare body type in India, with only the Mahindra Thar and Mini Cooper Convertible on offer, apart from multi-crore supercars. But that’ll change on January 6, as Mercedes is bringing back the E-Class convertible in India with the AMG E 53 4Matic+ Cabriolet. It’s likely to be imported as a completely built-up unit (CBU) similar to its existing stablemate, the four-door AMG E 53 4Matic+ sedan. 

Mild-hybrid performance 

The AMG E 53 Cabrio has a 3-litre inline-six cylinder petrol engine paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission and mild-hybrid system. It makes a mammoth 435PS and 520Nm, which is good to enable the car to sprint from nought to 100kmph in 4.5 seconds. 

All that performance comes paired with a sporting chassis with self-levelling AMG Adaptive Sport suspension with air springs. In addition, it has a 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system that can send up to 100 per cent power to the rear wheels. 

Features and luxury  

The luxury cabrio is based on the three-door E-Class coupe, so it’s a bit shorter in length and in wheelbase than the existing E-Class sedan, which is available in India in the long wheelbase guise only. The E 53 Cabriolet is equipped with an ‘acoustic’ soft top that gives you a quiet cabin ambience when the top is up. It can be retracted in under 20 seconds at speeds of up to 50kmph and fits under the rear deck, isolated from the cargo area. 

Another nifty feature is the Air Cap, a retractable wind deflector that even shields the rear seats from a draft. Other premium equipment includes Airscarf neck heaters, powered front sport seats with memory and massage functions, digital driver’s display, 12.3-inch infotainment display and AMG steering with touch controls. 

The E-Class convertible also has driver-assistance tech such as blind spot assist and forward collision prevention, and even offers compatibility with Car-to-X communication, a future tech that’ll allow different vehicles to communicate about hazards with each other. 

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The Mercedes-AMG E 53 4Matic+ Cabriolet is likely to be priced at a premium over its sedan sibling that costs Rs 1.06 crore. Being a CBU, it should cost around Rs 1.2-1.3 crore (ex-showroom). The E 53 Cabrio will be uncontested in its segment as the only performance convertible you can buy in India. Overseas, it rivals the cabrio versions of the BMW M4 and Lexus LC500.