Tuesday 10th July 2012

Mercedes CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake revealed

AMG keeps chasing those niches; this time it's a performance version of Merc's rakish CLS estate

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This is the new Mercedes CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake, which follows on from the less sporty 'cooking' version of the rakish CLS estate that was unveiled just before the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

As you might have expected, the Shooting brake takes the same drivetrain as its saloon cousin, meaning Mercedes' thumping 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 coupled to the AMG MCT 7-speed automatic transmission.

In its most humble version the big V8 makes 525hp and 516lb ft, but specify the 'Edition 1' version (the CLS Shooting Brake's version of the performance pack available on other AMG models) and you get 557hp and 590lb ft. Depending on how spicy the car, 0-62mph takes 4.3sec or 4.2sec, though top speed is electronically limited to 155mph.

The sensible aspects of car ownership, meanwhile, are covered by a combined fuel consumption figure of 27.9mpg, CO2 emissions of 235g/km and 1550 litres of potential cargo space.

"The CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake is establishing a completely new, small and select niche sector, and is expected to delight new customers just as much as it will existing AMG enthusiasts," says Ola Kallenius, Chairman of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. "The combination of performance, style and usability is unique."

Sales of the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake begin in November, but exact spec and pricing are yet to be confirmed.

[Madmatt74]

Why? Id rather have the E-class estate and a few extra quid in the pocket.

[MiseryStreak]

That is one quick, slick looking dog wagon.

[sagarich]

It looks brilliant.

[slarnge]

I like !

[nickbee]

Nice looking car, but it's still not a shooting brake.

ETA: Nice looking from the front and the back, but actually from the side I think everything behind the rear wheels looks wrong. There's something odd about how the top of the windows diverges form the roofline, and the rear lights are horrible.

Edited by nickbee on Tuesday 10th July 11:04

[ReaperCushions]

Madmatt74 said:

Why? Id rather have the E-class estate and a few extra quid in the pocket.

Why? Because this looks 100% better

[topgunkos]

Really like this, looks great.

[mr2j]

so this versus the E class wagon comes down to either

a) the size of your dog
b) the length of your holiday
or
c) how much stuff one might want to cart to the tip

does it have more room than the C class wagon?

[Frimley111R]

Pointless. Make a car that can carry big loads then reduce load size. I think a hatch version would have been better.

The back looks like its drooping. Not nice.

[r7ehw]

Madmatt74 said:

Why? Id rather have the E-class estate and a few extra quid in the pocket.

Simple, its for the people for whom money is no object and want something unique. There will not be a lot of these about giving customers the exclusivity they crave.

If you are worried about about extra money in your pocket you are probably not in the market for an AMG estate be that a c class, e class or any any other uber wagon version are you?

I love it, and if "money were no object" I'd be straight to the dealers

[WillBrumBrum]

It may look pretty but I drove a 2008 E Class Coupe AMG a couple of years ago and it was as poorly engineered as a 'Made in China' bucket and spade.

[Krikkit]

Mmm... Is it still 4 giant seats in the rear? Lovely thing.

[AlexRWD]

nickbee said:

ETA: Nice looking from the front and the back, but actually from the side I think everything behind the rear wheels looks wrong. There's something odd about how the top of the windows diverges form the roofline, and the rear lights are horrible.

Edited by nickbee on Tuesday 10th July 11:04

Completely agree

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

nickbee said:

ETA: Nice looking from the front and the back, but actually from the side I think everything behind the rear wheels looks wrong. There's something odd about how the top of the windows diverges form the roofline, and the rear lights are horrible.

IMHO everything behind the B-pillar looks dreadful, and you're right: it's the way the window line diverges that does it.

[British Beef]

The rear wheel arch contours should be much more pronounced, to add a little agression to the styling.

Does it sit between the C and E class in terms of space and practicality and (probably) above both in performance and price????

[pilchardthecat]

Back end looks awful!

27mpg? Really?

Not a shooting brake either!

[Greg 172]

Krikkit said:

Mmm... Is it still 4 giant seats in the rear? Lovely thing.

FOUR giant seats in the rear?! Look forward to seeing these popping with executive taxi firms then.....

[thewheelman]

The side profile makes the car look like it has a saggy arse. Other than that it looks as good as the rest of the Mercedes range.

[tinyh98]

Wonder if I could get my bicycles into the back of it? 62cm frames on them....hope there's enough room....I know I'm gonna win the lottery!

[garypotter]

Shooting brake!!!!!

Why?????