Since coming to Mercedes-Benz Malaysia to take on the position of Vice-President (Marketing & Sales, Passenger Cars), Florian Mueller has been intent on making the point that it's not impossible to offer a wide product range in this market - and to assemble many of the models too.

Of note is the local assembly of the flagship model - the S500L - a move which partly reinforces the fact that the plant in Pekan, Pahang, can produce cars to the highest quality standards demanded by the German luxury carmaker. And in response to those who have said that the parallel importers offer more variety and better specs, he also had AMG versions of the E280 and S300L assembled locally.

Mercedes has launched the C300, the most powerful - C-Class version ever assembled in Malaysia. More than just having the big V6 that is also found in the E300 and S300, the C300 (in Avantgarde form) also comes with a factory-fitted AMG Sports package. The price is RM320,888 (US$ 101, 900) excluding insurance premium.

While the AMG division of Mercedes-Benz focuses on enhancing the performance of various models, it also has a range of accessories that are specially designed for each model. In the case of the sports package for the C300, there's a full bodykit comprising sportier front and rear bumpers, side skirts and twin tailpipes. At the media preview this afternoon, the cars on display had black, white and grey body colours.

Besides the 18-inch AMG wheels (with 225/40 tyre at the front and 255/35 at the rear), the perforated front brake discs and calipers also have sporty looks and it goes without saying that their stopping power is uprated.

As for the V6 engine, which has a distinctive note, 231 bhp and 300 Nm (between 2500 and 5000 rpm) of torque give the 1575-kg sedan a very good weight-to-power ratio that allows it to get from standstill to 100 km/h in a claimed 7.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 246 km/h - while still doing around 10.5 kms/litre. Power delivery goes through the 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission with 7 forward gears with overdrive ratios in the top two.

The C300 also comes with the Dynamic Handling Package which offers two suspension modes - sports and comfort. As there is no air suspension, the shock absorbers are electronically-controlled to alter their damping characteristics as the car is moving.

Seven sensors monitor the driving conditions and optimize damping but the driver can also manually make the selection using a button on the dashboard. Basically, in Sports mode, the shock absorbers are stiffened to increase stability at high speeds and reduce understeer. When in this mode, the system also adapts the accelerator characteristics for more spontaneous engine response and signals the transmission control unit to shift more quickly.

With the package installed, the C300 sits 15 mm lower than the C200 CGI as the springs are shorter and there are also thicker stabilizer bars. Speed-sensitive steering with variable centering is fitted and for agility, the steering ratio has been tightened up to 13.5 from 14.5.

Inside the car, the sporty ambience is very evident with sports seats at the front and a dark interior colour theme. AMG-specific parts are the 3-spoke steering wheel (with paddles for shifting manually), brushed stainless steel sports pedal with rubber studs and AMG floormats. The rest of the standard equipment is similar to what you'd find on the C250 CGI and as you would expect, just about everything you need is installed including a GPS route navigation system.

Mr. Mueller said that the C300 AMG is being offered to cater to those customers who want the ultimate C-Class, a sedan which is driver-oriented and dynamically superior. He does not expect to sell a lot of this version but then again, he didn't expect to sell a lot of the E280 AMG either and demand was way beyond what had been planned.