The Sportcoupe was released to broaden the C-Klasse line-up as well as to compete against the ever increasing in popularity BMW Compact.
Despite the good marketing of the car, oriented towards younger buyers, the coupe did not meet the German producer’s expectations due the high retail price compared to that of competition-delivered vehicles. The car was powered by a wide array of engines including the later developed M271 series comprising 1.8 L units that were either normally aspirated or supercharged. An engine that initially belonged to the SportCoupe only was the C 230K which developed an impressive 190 hp.