Monday 5th July 2010

Facelifted Mercedes CL Unveiled

New look and new motor for big Merc luxo-coupe

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Mercedes has revealed the facelifted version of its big CL coupe, the first major tweak since the car was introduced in 2007.

Styling revisions are limited to reshaped bumpers, headlights and tail lamps, bigger door mirrors (now with the Mercedes must-have of integrated indicators), a restyled bonnet and the all-but-unavoidable daytime running lights.

The biggest change, however, is beneath that reprofiled bonnet - a new direct-injection twin-turbo V8 for the CL500 that pushes out 429bhp and 516lb ft of torque. That's 46bhp and a chunky 125lb ft more torque than the old CL500 could manage, despite dropping 800cc over the old engine.

The result of that new engine is a car that can get from 0-62mph in 4.9secs (cutting half a seconds from the old car's sprint time), while fuel economy improves by 23 per cent to 29.73mpg on the EU combined cycle - an improvement that partly comes courtesy of a revised seven-speed auto, a new stop-start system and regenerative brakes

The twin-turbo, 517bhp, V12 CL600 will remain available in the UK, but as a special-order car only, while the 603bhp CL65 also continues. There will also eventually be a successor to the CL63 AMG version of the new CL, which will use the company's new twin-turbo, 536bhp, 5.5-litre V8.

The cabin has also received a tweak, with new colours, trims, lighting in three different shades and a re-worked steering wheel.

Among the many more exotic options are two types of actual granite trim - available in the wonderfully named Labrador blue pearl or Star Galaxy black.

The optional kit list also includes Active Lane Keeping Assist, which uses a camera to detect when a car has left the planned lane, then applies braking to individual wheels to move it back on course.

If you want have a look at the full details of the new car, Mercedes has created a spectacularly detailed press release, which you can peruse at your leisure by following the link below...

Mercedes-Benz CL full press release

[chiefski26]

Think i prefer look of current model