Mercedes-Benz Unveils New CLA Sporty Compact

Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz Cars will publicly debut a concept version of its upcoming CLA small sedan at the Beijing auto show next week. The all-wheel-drive model will debut next year worldwide.

The coupe-like four-door will use Daimler's new Mercedes Frontwheel Architecture. The same platform carries the company's next-generation A- and B-Class small cars and is expected to underpin future sport wagon and crossover models.

The heavily sculpted CLA concept is propelled by a new 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant and seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Daimler unveiled the 208-hp engine, which is offered in the new A-Class sedan, at the Geneva auto show last month.

The concept sports several features unlikely to appear in the production model, including 20-inch wheels, a panoramic glass roof, rear diffuser, turn signals that blink sequentially and headlamps that glow red in standby mode.

Daimler says it will build the CLA at the $1 billion plant it opened last month in Kecskemet, Hungary. The facility, which has capacity to make 100,000 vehicles per year, also assembles the new B-Class sedan in March. Daimler also is expanding capacity in Rastatt, Germany, to produce the same platform.