Mercedes-Benz unveiled the CLC as a successor for the C-Class Sportcoupe at the Berlin Fashion Week in 2008, but it was a bridge between the C-Class W203 and W204.

The mid-life cycle of the C-Class W203 affected also the Sport Coupe version. It was launched in 2004 and it came with improvements in more areas.

Mercedes-Benz tried its luck on the compact segment with a shortened version of the C-Class in 2000 when it introduced the C-Class Sport Coupe.