A vehicle with two faces stands out this year at the Mercedes-Benz exhibition stand at the 2007 Sofia Motor Show.

For the first time, we will have the chance to see the two visions of the new C-class.

The Avantgarde line has a grille with three horizontal bars and a large centre-mounted star.

This design amazed everyone when it was first presented to the public in Stuttgart earlier this year. The other two lines of equipment the Classic and Elegance lines retain the traditional Mercedes-Benz radiator grill, with a three-point star bonnet emblem.

Mercedes have paid special attention to the four-cylinder engines mounted under the bonnet of the newest family member. All of the engines have improved power but not at the cost of the fuel consumption. On the contrary, Mercedes assures that the improved dynamics will show lower fuel consumption (half litre a 100 km).

The diesel engines are also new. More horsepower, common rail type and better engine torque. The six-cylinder engines, however, will remain unchanged. The choice offered by the company is of three petrol engines with 293 hp, 231 hp and 272 hp, respectively. The diesel engine is the C 320 CDI, with 224 hp. A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the all models except the C 350 which has the 7G-TRONIC (seven-gear automatic) transmission, a world first. The C class is available with the PRE-SAFE®, system, which detects vehicles up ahead, warns of likely impacts and primes the braking system for faster response.

The price starts at 23 960 euro (without VAT).