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The Daily Insight Hub

What do Mercedes model letters mean?

Author

Emma Miller

Updated on January 11, 2026

Mercedes-Benz Nomenclature for its cars starting with Letters: If the letters such as “A”, “B”, “C” etc. are used as the prefix to the model number, then they represent the ‘Class’ or group of models. The letters which are used as a suffix usually denote the variant or body-style of the car.

What do Mercedes model numbers and letters mean?

Mercedes assigns both a letter and a number to its sedans; often, the number denotes the engine size or type. For instance, The C300 sedan indicated the engine size (a 3L V6) until 2015‒2016. Finally, some models carry the letters AMG after the C, E, or S on the trunk lid.

What does SLK mean on a Mercedes-Benz?

sporty light short
While Mercedes-Benz no longer produced any vehicles with the “SLK” badging, it’s technically still being produced. First manufactured in 1996, the SLK acronym is derived from the words “sportlich leight kurz” which means “sporty light short”, which describes its body type pretty well.

What does ML stand for on a Mercedes?

ML = Renamed/Replaced by GLE. GL = Renamed/Replaced by GL. CLC = Renamed/Replaced C class coupe/cabriolet. CLK = Renamed/Replaced E class coupe/cabriolet.

What’s the best class of Mercedes-Benz?

S-Class
What’s the highest Mercedes-Benz class? The top-tier, flagship class of the Mercedes-Benz brand is typically considered to be the S-Class. Originally introduced in 1972, the S-Class moniker has remained in use to denote some of the automaker’s most impressive rides ever since.

What does 4MATIC stand for?

four-wheel drive
An increasing number of Mercedes models are now offered with 4Matic – the brand’s name for four-wheel drive.

What does Mercedes GL stand for?

Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV
The GL prefix is meant to be a nod to the famous signature Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, which is the flagship SUV of the Mercedes-Benz SUV lineup. Therefore, any Mercedes-Benz vehicle with the letters GL will be considered an SUV.

What does the 63 mean in Mercedes?

Whatever the engine, a “63” badge on the back of a Mercedes-AMG denotes raw unadulterated performance with no compromise. A Mercedes-AMG 63, regardless whether it’s a C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, or one of the SUVs, offers near-supercar performance alongside the sumptuous luxury of a Mercedes-Benz.

Is Mercedes SLK a girl car?

Ever since it minced into the marketplace 16 years ago, Mercedes’ little SLK has been the world’s only transgender car. Even though it was born with an Adam’s apple, dressed in shorts and trained to use the urinals, it has always been as girlie as a pink bedroom full of soft toys.

Is the SLK a good car?

It’s a great car to drive and has excellent features such as cruise control which I use a great deal even at 30 mph to keep within the speed limit. It goes very well with ample power and comfortable.

What does the SLK stand for in Mercedes Benz?

The SLK name also indicates that the solid-roof convertible is smaller than the full-size SL cabrio — the letters SL in the bigger convertible also stand for S portlich and L eicht. For a time Mercedes-Benz used the K suffix to denote smaller versions of speciality cars.

What does the GL stand for in Mercedes Benz?

E-Class was named for the Engine and sometimes the ‘L’ doesn’t consistantly translate over to the GL. Overall, I have to say the meaning is inconsitant but as of lately, Mercedes-Benz is renaming certain models to make everything coherent and consistant.

What does the K stand for in Mercedes Benz?

For a time Mercedes-Benz used the K suffix to denote smaller versions of speciality cars. There was the GLK, which was a small SUV named after the company’s full-size GL SUV.

When did the Mercedes SLK Class facelift come out?

The facelift was released for vehicles produced from March 2016, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the SLK-Class. The model range was also renamed to SLC-Class to conform to the new Mercedes nomenclature, and introduced new engines and a revised design.