The new CLS is, according to Mercedes-Benz, a "four-door coupe." Okay, I'll agree to the four-door part, but "coupe"? The CLS indeed does have a curvaceous roofline evoking the design of a classic sports coupe, but it has the four doors, interior dimensions and luggage room of a capacious sedan. Ultimately, who cares what you call it, as the CLS is the sexiest car from Mercedes-Benz since the gullwinged 300 SLs of the 1950s. It's a delight both to the eye and to the driver.
The new four-seater CLS (adults easily fit in back) was penned as the result of the question, "What can we do to modernize the concept of a luxury coupe?" A full-size model was first shown at Frankfurt 2003 and drew raves for its eye-catching sensuality, convincing the Mercedes board of its appeal to...whom? Was there a gap in the lineup that had yet to be filled?
Mercedes thought so and is preparing to sell 30,000 of the CLS worldwide in this, its first full year of production. The lion's share is coming to the U.S., in both CLS 500 or CLS 55 AMG versions, and buyers are expected to be those who prize style as highly as substance in their lives, and those to whom driving is more recreation than daily drudgery.
The CLS 500 debuted in the U.S. in January and the CLS 55 in February, and though prices hadn't been announced when this article was written, figure the tariffs to fall between E and CLK models below and S and CLs above, with a correspondingly higher sticker for the AMG version.
Though the CLS shares many components with existing Mercedes models, the amalgamation is far more evocative than most "parts-bin" projects. Designed to attract "younger, more active" buyers to the Mercedes fold, the CLS 500 competes in the U.S. with the Lexus GS 430, Jaguar XJ8, Audi A6 and BMW 5- and 6 Series, while its European brethren (which includes the not-imported-here CLS 350) also goes up against the Alfa 166.
To some carmakers, it might have been enough just to have designed the voluptuous body and then wrapped it around an existing platform, especially if the platform were as accomplished as those from Mercedes. It works differently in Stuttgart. Every new car, regardless of its lineage, carries forward the company's technological richness and then adds to that wealth with new touches that often go unnoticed by the casual buyer, and the CLS is a prime example of this evolutionary dynamic at work.
To begin from the outside, the clearcoat layer of the car's paint utilizes nano-technology to suspend untold numbers of ceramic particles into the paint binder. As the liquid paint hardens, the ceramic particles form a dense, regular structure on the surface of the paint, which Mercedes said increases scratch resistance by 300%.
Increasing strength and reducing weight is almost always a project engineer's overriding concern. To help accomplish that juggling act for the CLS, almost half of the steel bodyshell is built from high-strength alloy sheet steel, some of which features a new "dual-phase" microstructure to increase strength and resistance to high loading forces. Reducing the entire structure's weight was partly accomplished through the judicious use of aluminum, including for the parcel shelf, the front-end module member and the panel aft of the rear seatbacks. Even the spare wheel well received attention; it's now comprised of a fiber-reinforced plastic for further weight savings.
Plastic comes into play below the car's floor as well, replacing PVC as the underbody cladding. Not only does it help resist stone chipping, its design aids aerodynamics, providing a smoother surface and eliminating virtually all air turbulence. The car's overall excellent Cd of 0.31 was a goal from the start of the project, even when the styling department was in the process of designing the coachworks. The shape of the front and rear aprons, hood, C-pillars and luggage deck all contribute to a more slippery surface, yet these components also appear as well integrated into the car's appealing looks as the three-pointed star on the nose.
Unseen elements which also contribute to optimize progress through the air include plastic elements in front of the front wheel arches to improve airflow across the front axle links, aerodynamic cladding on the rear axle spring links, and mini-spoilers in front of each wheel to reduce dynamic pressures at the tires and improve airflow around the wheels. Even the windshield wiper system received a dose of new technology. The dual-wiper arms were refined in the wind tunnel. Called aero wipers. they feature a new mounting system and integrated spoiler for better wiping and less noise.