GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Mercedes-AMG C43 Cabriolet revealed

Yesterday’s E400 Cab becomes today’s Mercedes-AMG C43 Cabriolet – but there is more to the change than just a swap of letters and numbers.

Curiously, the previous-generation E-Class Cabriolet was based on the C-Class platform, so the new-gen replacement returns to its rightful name. The new C43 uses a similar 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 as the old E400, but the AMG badging is not there for styling-package show.

As with the C43 sedan and Coupe already revealed, the Cabriolet packs 270kW and 520Nm, up a handy 25kW/40Nm on the old E400.

Now teamed with standard all-wheel drive (though promising rear-biased distribution) and a nine-speed automatic, the driver will be windswept from standstill to 100km/h in a claimed 4.8 seconds – a half-second faster than E400 but a tenth slower than the C43 Coupe.

Halfway to that standing start benchmark the driver can opeate the electrically foldable soft-top roof that is claimed to be based on the mechanism in the S-Class Cabriolet, folding back and forth in less than 20 seconds.

For cold-start sprinting, the Mercedes-Benz Airscarf function is available to waft warm air down the necks of front occupants. As with the C43 Coupe (read more here) the C43 Cabriolet gets variable-ratio sports steering and three-mode adaptive suspension as standard equipment.

It also includes Eco, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes for the transmission and an Individual mode to independently mix-and-match steering, throttle/drivetrain and suspension responses from dull (we mean, efficient) to sporty.

The C-Class Coupe is due locally before the end of 2016, with word still to come from Mercedes-Benz Australia regarding when the Cabriolet versions just released at the Geneva motor show will follow.

With the E400 retailing at $144,510 and the C43 Coupe likely to cost around $110,000, expect a figure of around $120,000 for the C43 Cabriolet when it lands here to rival the BMW 435i Convertible.