The Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake was officially unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend. It’s taken almost two years, but Mercedes’ Audi A7-rivalling, five-door, coupe-like estate. If you’re having as much trouble defining the Shooting Brake as we were initially, Mercedes has a simple definition for you: it’s the estate version of the CLS.
The CLS Shooting Brake is the same width as the CLS sedan (1 881 mm), but is 16 mm longer (4 956 mm) and 3 mm lower (1 413 mm). The CLS Shooting Brake has a sporty design, which Mercedes say is representative of a “sports car with five seats and a tailgate”. Exterior highlights include LED headlights, a sloping roofline and a tailgate-mounted spoiler.
Inside, the CLS Shooting Brake takes its cues from the four-door CLS, which includes leather upholstery, wood trim and metallic accents. The boot holds 590-litres of cargo and can be equipped with a cherry and oak combination trim floor, as well as aluminum load rails.
Four different engines are available. Diesels include the CLS 250 CDI BlueEfficiency, which is powered by a 2.1-litre 4-cylinder engine producing 150 kW and 500 Nm of torque. It offers acceleration of 0 – 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 235 km/h. The CLS 350 CDI BlueEfficiency uses a 3.0-litre V6 engine that develops 195 kW and 620 Nm of torque. The CLS 350 is a capabe of a zero to 100 km/h sprint of 6.6 seconds and a 250 km/h top speed.
Petrol engines include the CLS 350 BlueEfficiency with a 3.5-litre V6 engine, 225 kW, 370 Nm of torque, acceleration of 0 – 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h. The CLS 500 BlueEfficiency features a twin-turbo 4.6-litre V8 engine, which generates 300 kW and 600 Nm of torque. This enables the V8-powered model to reach 100 km/h from zero in 5.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 250 km/h.
Standard equipment includes self-leveling air suspension at the rear and a 7-speed 7G-Tronic Plus automatic transmission with an ECO start/stop function. The CLS 350 CDI and the CLS 500 will also be offered with Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel drive system.
