CATS chairman Greg Yu and CATS VP for sales and planning Bob Shaw with the new E-Class Coupe. (Photo by ANJO PEREZ)

CATS Motors recently launched the new Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe in its dealership in Global City, Taguig – continuing its legacy of developing sporty and elegant two-door vehicles in MB’s mid range models which first rolled out from their production line four decades ago.

Led by CATS chairman Greg Yu, the unveiling of the MB E350 Coupe came five months after its four-door counterpart E-Class Saloon was introduced before a big crowd at the NBC Tent, Global City, Taguig.

Even with a tag price of P5,980,000, Bob Shaw, CATS VP for sales and planning, said that there are six persons who have already placed reservations for the E350 Coupe and they can’t wait any longer.

Unleashed in the midst of a stormy season, the new MB E350 sport coupe is a “storm” by itself. Packed with maximum power output of 272 horsepower combined with a maximum torque rating of 350NM, this twister can easily blow one’s mind. Propelled by a V-6 3.5-liter engine, the E350 coupe can sprint from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in just 6.3 seconds with a claimed top speed of 250 kph.

To ensure that the driver will not succumb to drowsiness that often lead to road accidents, Mercedes-Benz engineers have developed the "Attention Assist" system that continuously evaluates more than 70 different parameters of his behavior while on the steering wheel.

Once the system detects minor steering errors, a special steering angle sensor will immediately recognize the problem and quickly warn the driver. Aside from this, the E-Class coupe has a long and short range radar sensor to monitor the distance of the vehicle infront to warn the driver if there is a possibility of collision. This hi-tech system is called the Distronic Plus also developed by MB.

The dynamic exterior styling of this two-door model gave everyone a refreshing view of what a sports car should be. Just like the old MB coupes that were born in 1960s, the MB E350 traditional “life-long” styling will stand the test of time.

Long arrow-shaped bonnet, powerful contour on its rear wing, racy-looking twin headlamp face, sporty radiator grille with a large three-point star and pillar-less side windows speak of the E350 Coupe’s athletic appearance.

Adding more appeal to the E350 Coupe’s muscular stance are the wide-base 235/40 rubbers in front and a much broader 255/35 tires at the rear, all of which are mounted into a set of large 18-inch AMG stylish twin spoke alloys.

Having an overall dimension of 4,698 mm in length; 2,028 mm in width (including exterior mirrors); and 1,397 mm in height, the E-class Coupe is relatively big-sized as compared to other sports cars in the local market.

It’s big but its sporty character makes it agile and quick, the way sports cars should behave.

A car ready to rumble, it is endowed with original AMG sports package that includes speed sensitive power steering, specially designed multi-contour front seats with "Pre-safe" anticipatory occupant protection, front brake callipers with Mercedes-Benz lettering, three-spoke sports steering wheel, perforated front brake discs and body styling (front and rear aprons).

Adding more excitement to the E350 Coupe is its AMG agility control suspension system that reduces damping during normal driving conditions but automatically applies stiffer damping force during high speed cornering or quick evasive maneuvers.

The driver has two options for riding comfort by simply choosing between “Comfort” and “Sport” suspension mode. Moreover, it is also blessed with a speed-sensitive sports steering system as part of its dynamic handling package.

Following the heritage of the MB two-door breed, the blood line of the E350 Coupe can be traced from the MB coupe version W114 series that was launched in 1967. Ten years after, it was followed by the “C” model of the W123 and in 1987, the MB W124 series was born. In 1997, the handsome CLK series rolled out into the streets and became an instant hit.

Hailed as the world’s most aerodynamically efficient series-production car with a drag co-efficient figure of just 0.24, it seemed that no powerful wind from a stormy day can sway this astonishing E350 Coupe series from invading the exclusive two-door vehicle market.