Scheduled to go on sale towards the end of the year, the Shooting Brake version of the sleek Mercedes-Benz CLS has been officially unveiled at this year’s edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The car is riding on the same mechanical base as the regular CLS and adopts a similar styling, including here the elegant frameless doors.
The CLS Shooting Brake features a bespoke roof which slopes back at a very acute angle, while the rear doors have just about the same look, but the shape of the glass has been updated. There’s also an extra rear side window for extending the glasshouse to the taillights. The tailgate is automatically operated and when it’s open it provides access to a flat-floored boot.
As far as the dimensions are concerned, not a lot has changed since the standard CLS as the length has been extended only by 16 mm to 4956mm, the height has dropped by 2mm to 1413mm, while the width has remained the same at 1881mm. Both versions of the CLS have an identical 2875mm wheelbase, while the track widths are the same (1595mm front / 1625mm back).
The luggage compartment is able to hold up to 590 liters, which is a lot less than the 695 liters offered by the E-Class Estate, but at least it is 25 liters more than the Audi A6 Avant and also 30 liters more than the Touring version of the BMW 5-Series. If you fold down the rear seats, the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake can offer a cargo capacity of 1550 liters. The interior cabin of the car is the same one as the regular CLS. The carpeted floor of the car can be trimmed in several ways through the company’s Designo options program.
The bad news is that the CLS Shooting Brake won’t be offered with the same number of engines as the saloon model. The CLS 250 CDI will get a 4-cylinder turbocharged 2.1-liter engine that pumps out 201 hp, while the CLS 350 CDI will get a beefier V6 3.0-liter turbocharged unit with 261 hp. a 3.5-liter V6 naturally-aspirated 302 hp engine for the CLS 350 Shooting Brake, along with a more powerful V8 4.6-liter twin-turbocharged engine with 402 hp for the CLS 500 Shooting Brake. Also in the works is the flagship model, the CLS 63 AMG which hasn’t been confirmed yet but it seems that it will be motivated by a V8 6.2-liter twin-turbocharged engine capable of producing no less than 518 hp. This version should make its debut this September at the Paris Motor Show.
As standard, the engines will be linked to the company’s 7-speed automatic gearbox that will feature three modes: Eco, Sport and Manual. To improve fuel efficiency, the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake comes with brake energy recuperation, stop/start system, as well as on-demand operating of the engine ancillaries. The AMG version will probably get a 7-speed multi-clutch transmission (MCT) which will basically be an updated configuration of the regular automatic gearbox which instead of the regular torque converter it will have an automatic clutch that should be able to allow the gearbox to change gears quicker.
The automaker’s 4Matic four-wheel drive system will be available as an option for the CLS 350 CDI as well as the CLS 500 Shooting Brake. The AMG version will be capable of doing the 0-62 mph sprint in 4.5 seconds, en route to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.
The car will be manufactured alongside the saloon version at the company’s Sindelfingen factory which is located in the near vicinity of Stuttgart. In UK, the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake will have a starting price of approximately 48,000 pounds which will make it way more expensive than the E-Class Estate which in UK costs from 31,485 pounds.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
