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"Although this is a styling buck, the underlying platform is near production. We&amp;#039;re not sure what that vehicle will be, but we are told that of four models to be built on the architecture, one is slated to go on sale before the end of the year in Europe. The all-new platform is designed to replace the current A and B class cars already sold there. They are the pint-sized front-wheel-drive people-haulers that people commonly associate with countries outside the U.S. Practical and fuel efficient. That Mercedes has shown the A-Class at New York tells us one thing: The company wants to see if we&amp;#039;re ready for this type of vehicle.   Video window may take a few moments to load...          The concept shown here is a 3-door hatch that would theoretically be fitted with a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 making over 200 horsepower. That&amp;#039;s enough juice to inspire any driver in a car this size. A discussion with Program Chief Engineer, Dr. Hans Engel, gave me some insight into why this car is being shown in the U.S.   To begin, it&amp;#039;s a concept. If or when it should go on sale in the U.S., the car won&amp;#039;t likely use the A- or B-class nomenclature. It would be a new car for us, with a new name. Not should we expect the first production version of this platform to resemble this concept. The architecture can support a small sporting hatch and a medium-size SUV. Dr. Engel indicated that the Audi A3 was a benchmark, and the performance target was the BMW X1.           Mercedes-Benz&amp;#039;s Alternative Drive Train Programs Manager, Natanael Sijanta, thinks the time might be right to try again: &amp;quot;The A-Class is everything Mercedes-Benz stands for, just in a smaller size.&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s interesting to note that he wouldn&amp;#039;t comment on alternative powertrains for the concept, other than to say it&amp;#039;s possible. Of note, his last project was the fuel-cell F-Cell, based on the B-class Mercedes. So maybe we&amp;#039;ll see F-Cell technology integrated into this new architecture.   Versatile Structure   This architecture, says Dr. Engel, can support front-wheel and all-wheel-drive applications. Chassis strength can be altered easily by using thicker steel in the stampings. The suspension will feature aluminum up front in MacPherson struts, while the rear will use a compact independent type. Making the A-Class Concept unique in this segment, compared to, say, the Audi A3, will be the standard inclusion of radar-based Active Brake Assist, which supplements the already standard ABS and stability control. As the A-Class Concept is aimed at drawing in younger customers, safety is a selling point for parents who might be co-signing.           Both a manual transmission and 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission are to be used. Of course, Europe will have a selection of gasoline and diesel engines. If a car on this chassis comes to the U.S., it will likely feature only the most powerful gasoline engine, the DCT and a leather interior. But we won&amp;#039;t be surprised if some alternative energy hybrid technology is used to help it achieve 40 mpg. If we&amp;#039;re lucky, we might see a production version of this A-Class concept before the end of 2012. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/new-york-auto-show/news/a17162/mercedes-benz-a-class-concept/>