Mercedes CLS Pictures

The Mercedes-Benz CLS is an executive-size sedan originally launched in 2004 and based based on the W211 E-Class platform and was internally designated as the C219. The second generation Mercedes-Benz CLS was introduced in September 2010. The Mercedes-Benz CLS marked Mercedes-Benz's return to the executive-size coupe market since the (W124) E-Class Coupe (a two-door sedan) went out of production in 1995. The (W210) E-Class did not spawn a coupe variant, as Mercedes-Benz choose instead to introduce a smaller coupe based on the compact C-Class, the CLK-Class. However, the CLK-Class was built with a lengthened C-Class wheelbase so it could be slotted as a mid-sized vehicle, and it also featured styling cues, engines, and similar pricing to the (W210) E-Class to give the impression that the (W124) E-Class Coupe had been directly replaced.

Marketed as a 'four door coupe,' the Mercedes-Benz CLS recalls the fastback saloon designs of Robert Opron (born 1932) in the 1970s but is actually the work of the influential American automotive designer, Michael Fink (born 1967) who styled the first CLK, the C-Sportcoupe', and is known as the stylist who penned the Maybach 57 and 62. According to a Mercedes-Benz press release, the Mercedes-Benz CLS was produced to combine the "strong, emotive charisma" of a coupe with the "comfort and practicality" of a saloon. Save for its four-door design, the CLS's design tends towards a coupe, as its sleek roofline reduces the rear passenger room to a 2+2 arrangement, and it offers a smaller selection of engines tending towards high powered of the range, compared to contemporary sedans such as the E-Class. The Mercedes-Benz CLS name also caused some to confuse it as the four-door version of the CL-Class, the full-sized coupe based on the S-Class. Due to the popularity of the CLS-Class, other manufacturers are offering similar four-door fastback sedans, such as the Volkswagen Passat CC, Citroen C6 and Honda Civic.

Mercedes CLS Pictures

Mercedes CLS Pictures
Mercedes CLS Pictures