“I want to feel the wind in my face when I am driving”, says Alex Thompson, one of the best yachtsmen of the world. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet seems to meet his demands, as he sets off for a coastal road, with the sun and the scent of the Mediterranean fill Cote d’Azur with summer.
Slipping on his shades, the driver cautiously presses the accelerator and the engine purrs and spurs along the blue-white line of the waves. But still, there is something missing. There is though a silver button, a magic button on the center console that can make magic. The windows glide downwards and the black canvas top of the cabriolet folds down and slips out of view. A trick that can be performed at speeds up to 50 km/h (31 mph).
“It looks fantastic”, is Alex Thomson’s immediate reaction to the first Mercedes-Benz cabriolet.
Alex Thompson is an air lover. A sea-scent lover, in particular. As one of the modern world’s finest sailors, the 42-year old has lived a lifetime of fresh breaths. He was the youngest skipper to win a round-the-world race and he’s got the fastest solo crossing f the Atlantic as a reason to be proud.
In the relaxing cruise along the coast, with the breeze wafting off the sea and into the open cabin, the man of sea finds a new entertainment.
Dynamic and with a silhouette imitating that of the Coupe than that of the C-Class Sedan, the C 400 4Matic with the AMG Line trim features a suspension lowered by 15 millimeters (0.6 inches). The 19-inch AMG light-alloy wheels glue it to the ground and inches from it, the diamond radiator grille glitters on the road.
“Give me a sporty car any day of the week – but I’m not keen on anything too showy. Spoilers and the like are not for me,” says Thomson. “I prefer a little understatement,” the Brit adds, pinching the accelerator of the athletic vehicle that he is in full control of.
