08 Oct 04
As if the sleek and swoopy CLS isn't outrageous enough, Mercedes-Benz has added an AMG version to the recently-launched range. This involves the entirely predictable fitment of the supercharged 476bhp V8 engine used in AMG's enhanced E-Class, with suspension and cosmetic changes to suit. The price will be about the same as the E55's when the CLS range goes on sale here next March, which means just the far side of £60,000.
So, how do you toughen up the looks of something already trading on an attitude more extreme than we've ever seen before from a four-door Benz? The whole CLS deal is the visual impact of a low roofline, an upward-sweeping, convex waistline and an almost-fastback tail. A CLS looks like a concept car made real, complete with tough-metal motifs such as flared-out bodywork below the Plimsoll line and an ample air intake below the front bumper. The AMG version, with a commendably light touch, merely emphasises these parts, helped by a 10mm drop in the ride height of the Airmatic DC semi-active suspension and some 18in wheels with five paired spokes each and fatter tyres: 255/40 at the front, 285/35 at the back.
If you opt for a CLS over the more staid E-Class saloon on which it is loosely based (the CLS has SL parts in its mechanical make-up too, notably the front suspension and the brakes), you're clearly the kind of person who likes the notion of motion. It is, after all, a shape highly suggestive of speed. So a 5.5-litre version of the Mercedes V8 with added puff suits it very well. A CLS 55 AMG weighs 85 kg more than its E-Class cousin despite its smaller glass area, but this makes no difference to the claimed acceleration times. Both reach 62mph in 4.7 seconds, 124mph in 16.1, but the CLS burns a little more fuel in the process. An official average of 20.8mpg is still bearable for such pace, though. Top speed, naturally, is 155mph. Not much point in asking, really.
Inside, there's still the slightly coachbuilt feel of a regular CLS which helps make this car surprisingly special. The shallow side windows are frameless, the rear ends of the door waist rails are capped in chrome and the dashboard is a huge, curvy slab of satin-finish walnut so perfectly sculpted that it looks unreal. Here, though, the seats are more firmly bolstered - you can still have the 'dynamic contour' inflatable support that reacts to cornering forces - and trimmed in soft Nappa leather.
