RE: Ex-PH Fleet CLS63 Shooting Brake | PH Private Area

RE: Ex-PH Fleet CLS63 Shooting Brake | PH Private Area

Wednesday 13th November 2024

Ex-PH Fleet CLS63 Shooting Brake | PH Private Area

Remember the AMG super wagon Chris Harris used to call his own? Well, it's for sale


Mercedes-AMG is perhaps the ultimate buster of niches. If there’s a performance car margin to fill, you can guarantee the good people of Affalterbach will make it so. This is why there’s a small, seven-seat SUV with more than 300hp, an 840hp S-Class hybrid and a four-cylinder C63. Nobody could accuse the AMG lineup of not being diverse, or refusing to move with the times. Perhaps not all of them sell tremendously well, but there’s choice aplenty.

The old CLS Shooting Brake was definitely one of the more appealing niches pursued by AMG. On paper, it made little sense, because an E63 boasted the same powertrain and more space for less money - but we don’t buy cars on paper. As an experience, the 63 SB was on another level, stunning to look at and with a more lavish interior than the fairly humdrum (by comparison) E-Class wagon. 

This CLS certainly won over the person who put in the region of 20,000 early miles on it - a certain Chris Harris. Yes, him again. Once its initial duties had been fulfilled as a press car, it was his for a good many months as a long-term loan. As a young whipper snapper on the PH staff back then, receiving a sporadic update on the AMG was always quite exciting, discovering where it had been and what it had been up to. This being 2013, it was usually at Anglesey with Ferraris, giving a very good account of itself. 

And now that very car is for sale on PH. KP62 BBF has 80,000 miles under its forged rims, and is now being sold by the guardian of its last 14k and two years. Still looks fantastic, right? Paint, wheels and upholstery appear in fine fettle, and where a generous options spend perhaps looked OTT back in the day - sunroof, comfort seats, and a £2,696 ‘Luxury Package’ are just the start - it only makes the CLS look more desirable in 2024. Thank heavens someone opted for the locking diff when new, also - all £2,570 of it. 

There are stacks of history to support the 63’s mileage, and a button-heavy Merc dash that looks lightyears from today’s offering has been usefully modernised with CarPlay. The current owner has been on top of preventative maintenance in their time with the car as well, with front discs and pads, all four tyres, plus the gearbox and diff oil service, sorted since 2022. The next A service isn’t due until May and, although the MOT is coming up in January, there seems little reason to worry about that: it hasn’t failed a single test since 2015. Indeed they’ve all been clean, first-time passes bar a couple of years for keeping the child seat in (which hardly seems fair) and some worn tyres. Which is understandable in a 550hp-plus, rear-drive AMG.

Because the CLS was such a niche prospect when new, not many of them sold; arguably the rarity these days makes them even more appealing. You’ll do well to get into a Shooting Brake for less than £20k (the cheapest on PH right now is £16k with 120,000 miles) and even better to get one that matches the spec of BBF. It was a near-£100k car new thanks to the £14,000 of extras added by the press office; £97,419 in 2013 is more than £130,000 today. And now it’s for sale at £21,495. The CLS is unlikely to ever be a bargain basement AMG, and it’ll always be expensive to keep at its best, but as rare-groove AMGs go - and fast estates, for that matter - it’s surely always going to be one of the more desirable. Just ask the seller of this one.     


See the original advert here

Author
Discussion

Julian Scott

Original Poster:

4,308 posts

39 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Great car, aged well.

BigChiefmuffinAgain

1,374 posts

113 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Lovely thing - I freely admit I don't know my big AMG engines that well and that some have issues but this even looks reasonable value....

el romeral

1,597 posts

152 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
BigChiefmuffinAgain said:
Lovely thing - I freely admit I don't know my big AMG engines that well and that some have issues but this even looks reasonable value....
I believe this 5,5 liter engine variant is pretty much bomb proof? I have the non turbo version in my ML 55 and had no trouble over the years.

That is a dream car and does not seem crazily expensive either. Love it.

Motormouth88

603 posts

75 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Back when ‘AMG’ meant something

SlowV6

665 posts

154 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Lovely.

Would like to see a new MOT on it for £21K+.

Den Den

345 posts

34 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Motormouth88 said:
Back when ‘AMG’ meant something
All Money Gone

Nik Gnashers

935 posts

171 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
£22 grand for this awesome thing seems pretty good value if I'm being honest.

Wills2

26,081 posts

190 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all

That's aged very well the interior of these was always my favourite Benz interior before the silly screens started, nice FMBSH as well, I doubt it will hang around long.


S600BSB

6,594 posts

121 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Very nice.

BrettMRC

4,990 posts

175 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Never been thrashed.

hehe

nismo48

5,252 posts

222 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Good bang for buck shooting brake

UrbanAchiever

197 posts

151 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Good article, right?

Angelo1985

540 posts

41 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
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Can they put an MOT advisory because…you left the baby seat on? Really?
Mine had 2 on her last MOT, they never complained about them

Harry Flashman

20,585 posts

257 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
This car was mine, and has quite a lot of PH history even post the fleet/Chris Harris days!


https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...


Loved it, and was in super condition when it left me a couple of years ago. Only traded as I needed 4x4 for winter trips to the mountains.

The spec remains epic. That interior is my favourite of any car I have owned, save an early Morgan Aero 8.



Edited by Harry Flashman on Wednesday 13th November 19:50

Mikebentley

7,348 posts

155 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
said:
Harry is this the car you did the swap with for your skiing trip?

pSyCoSiS

3,891 posts

220 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Brilliant car. Great spec, power and performance.

Can get these to over 700bhp with relative ease.

patch5674

353 posts

127 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
One of my favorite cars of all time.

Not sure if I would want the teak decking in the back or have it a bit more dog/sleeper spec.

Arsecati

2,617 posts

132 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Hard to believe this is a 12 year old car - still an absolutely damn fine looking beast.

Harry Flashman

20,585 posts

257 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
Mikebentley said:
Harry is this the car you did the swap with for your skiing trip?
Yup - twice, with two great PHers, both of whom remain in touch on occasion.

The temptation to buy it back is surprisingly strong. In a world of shouty AMG and RS wagons, this design looks great.

Sadly, my family truck is now the mainstay for long trips, so i have no use case for the CLS.

Ray_Aber

641 posts

291 months

Wednesday 13th November 2024
quotequote all
I've always admired this car, and with that engine? Pwhoar!