Yowsers, Mercedes-Benz has gone all-in to make an impact with its landmark C-Class EV.

The frontal treatment is a full-bling light show that will challenge anything from China.

And the back end proves the new baby Benz is already a five-star car – count the lights – before it goes anywhere near an ANCAP crash test.

The silhouette of the C-Class newbie car is surprisingly smooth and suave, in a time of big-box SUVs, with the elegance expected of a proper prestige car.

Inside the landmark EV, the giant display screen – predictably – takes up almost the entire dashboard space.

More important than the light show and the screen, Benz says the car will have a 760-kilometre range between charges. It can also jump to 100km/h in 4.1 seconds.

It also claims the car will be “the sportiest C-Class ever” and describes the interior approach as “welcome home”.

On timing, Mercedes-Benz Australia is revealing nothing beyond “Early 2027”, a company spokesperson told startsat60.

And the pricing details? “Not yet”.

But there is more detail on the positioning of the all-new EV.

“The all-new electric C-Class will be offered alongside the ICE (internal combustion) and PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) C-Class range.”

“The C-Class is an important part of Mercedes-Benz’s electrified future in Australia, but not the only landmark. Alongside it, the all-new CLA, the all-new GLC and the all-new GLB will further expand our electric portfolio in Australia this year,” the spokesperson said.

Digging more deeply into the detail of the C-EV, Benz says the light show in the grille is powered by 1050 illuminated dots. There are another 162 ’stars’, with a choice of colours, in the illuminated panoramic roof.

The dashboard display is 39.1 inches wide with more than 1000 individual LEDs.

On the mechanical front, the car has rear-wheel steering that reduces the turning circle to 11.2 metres, and air suspension with ‘predictive damping’ that is linked to Google Maps data.

Compared with the combustion C-Class, the EV is 97 millimetres longer, translating to an extra 12 millimetres more rear legroom. Despite the standard sunroof, the car has 22 millimetres of extra headroom in the front and 11 millimetres in the back.

“This all-new electric C-Class is a powerful statement of what our customers can expect: ground-breaking technology, pioneering design and distinctive sportiness,” said Mathias Geisen, the Benz board member responsible for sales and customer experience.”

On the battery front, Benz said the C-EV uses 800-volt technology with a 94.5 kiloWatthour battery with lithium-ion chemistry.

Despite the importance of the C-EV, it is not the only landmark car coming to celebrate the 140th anniversary for Mercedes-Benz in 2026.

“Stay tuned to more local activations around 140 years of innovation at Mercedes-Benz in June,” said the spokesperson.

“You may had hear of the ‘140 Years. 140 Places’ journey that takes three of the new S-Classes to 140 iconic locations around the world, and will make a stop in Australia.”

And the new flagship is also coming to showrooms.

“The new S-Class is expected to launch in Australia in Q4 this year.”