Mercedes C-class at the 2014 Detroit motor show A lot of the big-car technology has trickled down to the C-class, including the option of air suspension. There will be three engines at the launch: a C220 2.1-litre diesel, C180 1.6-litre petrol and C200 2.0-litre petrol. A 1.6-litre diesel developed with Renault in 115 or 136bhp forms will come later, as will a diesel hybrid system from the E-class and, later still, a plug-in hybrid. The UK C-class will also be available with four-wheel drive and the semi-autonomous Intelligent Drive sensors and electronic systems which debuted on new S-class last year. The big news for America is that by 2015 US supplies of the new C-class will be built at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler's chief executive, announced the move, saying that America is the world's largest market for the C-class. It will mean that the American plant will produce five Mercedes models in the US by 2015. This comes off the back of a good year for Mercedes in America, where sales have risen by 14 per cent and almost one in five luxury vehicles sold has a three-pointed star on the front. In other Mercedes news, this year's GLA 45 AMG debuted complete with what it is claimed to be the world's most powerful four cylinder engine (355bhp from 2.0 litres). Small wonder the car comes with four-wheel drive as standard. The new Mercedes-Benz S600 at the 2014 Detroit motor show For dictators and plutocrats, the new S600 is yet more powerful than its predecessor (523bhp and 612lb ft of torque from the V12 twin-turbo engine), but mother earth can rest easy as it comes with a stop/start system as standard - Combined fuel consumption is 25.4mpg, which is 21 per cent better than the outgoing model.