[AUTO] 2021 Mercedes-Benz C-Class leaks online ahead of reveal

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Mercedes-Benz is gearing up for an imminent unveiling of the new generation C-Class, but leaked images posted online give a good look at the final production styling and interior.Pictures posted by The Automobolist Facebook page and CarsInPixels on Twitter show the C-Class will adopt a new look that brings it into line with the newer A-Class, E-Class and CLA. A more angular front end and reshaped light clusters are the most obvious evolutions, but more significantly it seems the BMW 3 Series rival will offer interior technology from the S-Class luxury flagship.The infotainment system looks to have been completely reinvented to accomodate the firm's second-generation MBUX software, with the old car's horizontal central display swapped out for a prominent vertical item between the front seats. The rotary controller and physical gearshifter are gone, too, with their functions likely shifted onto the touchscreen or steering wheel, and the gauge cluster does away with its conventional rounded dials for what appears to be a fully digital set-up.

Elsewhere, we can see a new design for the C-Class' distinctive air vents, and that a colour head-up display will be available.The new C-Class estate is not shown in the latest round of images, but was previewed earlier this year on a Youtube community post in a disassembled state at the factory. Like the saloon, it looks to feature familiar proportions and a new tail-lamp design, as well as interior influence from the

The C-Class has been redesigned from the ground up, with highly efficient new hybrid drivetrains and advanced autonomous driving technology set to be some of its key draws.Having experienced a sharp drop in C-Class sales in recent years because of the universal gravitation of buyers towards SUVs, the German maker is providing the fifth-generation model with many of the developments exhibited by the new S-Class. The new C-Class, codenamed W206, will challenge the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series when it arrives in UK showrooms in the middle of 2021.