While we’ve seen spy images, various renderings and even a non-camouflaged prototype spotted from afar, these here are the most compelling all-new Mercedes C-Class pictures out there and we’d love to share them with you.

Sure, there’s still a fair amount of tape left on the front and rear fascias. However, this prototype isn’t wearing anything else and its overall shape and design lines are fully visible.

We’ve been calling this C-Class a mini S-Class for a long time now, and for good reason. However, now that we can see the actual body lines more clearly, it’s evident that the two share very little in terms of looks, aside from a similar design philosophy.

Read: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class – Everything We Know About The Compact S-Class For The Masses

The latest S-Class has larger and sleeker headlights, while the doors feature different lines too, not to mention completely different door handles  – pop-up style for the S-Class and traditional for the new C-Class. By the looks of it, the C-Class front fascia will resemble the updated E-Class more than it will the flagship model.

Moving on, we arrive at the horizontal teardrop taillights, which are positioned higher towards the boot lid than on the S or even E-Class. They might actually work really well this time with Mercedes’ latest design language. The whole car looks a bit more dynamic than its two bigger siblings and that might just work in its favor.

We can also tell that this model is wearing an AMG Line exterior kit, giving it chunkier bumpers and sporty-looking side skirts, to go with the double five-spoke AMG wheels, whose design is very familiar.

Then there’s the interior, which actually does borrow heavily from the 2021 S-Class. It’s not very visible in these images, but we’ve seen the layout before in previous spy images – it has the same free-standing digital gauge cluster as the S and the same angled portrait-style infotainment screen.

On the engine front, expect 48-volt EQ Boost mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, while AMG variants might still get a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 if they’re lucky. Some reports suggest the V8 could be replaced by a really powerful 2.0-liter unit with more than 500 HP, but nothing’s so far official.

Mercedes should unveil the all-new C-Class before the end of this year, with a sales debut for the U.S. slated for 2021 – as a MY2022 car.

Photo Credits: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien for CarScoops