Mercedes-Benz have many prototypes of the next-gen A-Class out testing, but one mule that was recently spied with the body of the current model has us scratching our heads.
Captured on camera in Germany, the mysterious hatch looks identical to the W176 iteration, until you take a closer look to its front end that’s partially covered in vinyl sporting not just one, but two logos strapped to its grille.
Your guess is as good as hours as to what we might be looking at here, but one thing that crossed our minds is that perhaps Mercedes is trying out some new tech feature. Or they’re simply trolling us…
In any case, the next generation of the three-pointed star’s compact take on the BMW 1-Series and Audi A3 is expected to debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, this fall, with an entirely new body and an upgraded variant of the current platform. FWD will be standard, but more potent models will get the 4Matic AWD system as well.
Joining the likes of the hatch will be a four-door sedan that is believed to go on sale in select markets like China, where it will compete against the locally-made BMW 1-Series and Audi’s A3 saloon.