Mercedes-Benz CLS500 2008 News

After successfully combining a four-door sedan with a curvy coupe to create the top selling CLS, the development team at Mercedes-Benz has now rammed a wagon into the back of a two-door coupe.The result is called the ConceptFASCINATION and it's an odds-on bet for a new place in the silver star family.Officially, the radical new two-door is only a 'design study' but it will be under the spotlight at the Paris Motor Show in a fortnight and is likely to be in showrooms within three years.Why? Because Benz can and because it should.The ConceptFASCINATION — another morph — shows there is plenty of life in the old-fashioned British 'shooting brake', originally a luxury sedan modified with a station wagon tail so the upper classes could shoot small, feathered-and-furry creatures.We've seen something similar with the Volvo C30, but the new Benz is much bigger and much more elegant.It also comes at a time when Mercedes-Benz is about to change its name game — the next CLK will be called the E-Class coupe — in a move which clears the way for something new."The ConceptFASCINATION is a vehicle that's pretty much unique," says David McCarthy, the spokesman for Mercedes-Benz Australia."It is only a concept. But if it was to come to market it would be likely to sell very well."You only have to look at the CLS, which was totally new. Since its introduction we've sold over 150,000 worldwide."The ConceptFASCINATION is about the same size as a CLK coupe, but sits much lower with a dramatic sweep from nose to tail.Benz claims it is emotional, practical and elegant and the Paris Show car has a combination of wood, aluminium and smoked glass to give it an upmarket look. As well as a giant sunroof.But don't expect the fridge or cigar humidor in the concept car to make it to showrooms.Instead, the ConceptFASCINATION will combine a four-door coupe cabin with a truly useful luggage space beneath its upright rear hatch."Station wagons are huge in Europe. We are even seeing it here with the take-up on the C-Class wagon," says McCarthy."This concept is a vehicle that is similar to some vehicles in the past, not from us, that have definitely struck a chord with buyers. It's looking at the needs of a particular section of the market."McCarthy says it will be ideal for the cashed-up 20-somethings who have also been fans of Benz's B-Class hatch."The B-Class has been very successful for us in Australia. This is different, of course, and is between C and E in size."Full details will be revealed in Paris but Benz is already wittering about a load space that "develops organically from the exciting and elegant lines of this lifestyle coupe" as well as "elegance, savoir-vivre and exclusivity of the highest level".The design includes a new take on the company's corporate 'face' including the sort of LED running lights which are now commonplace on prestige cars, as well as a tail with a forward sloping glasshouse.But the emotion is obvious and Benz could easily have another winner, particularly as the ConceptionFASCINATION is already being touted for a full-scale AMG makeover if — when — it goes into production. 

It says everything about the ubiquity of such things that the authorities in Baghdad are holding one. What better way to present the image that all's well in this most dangerous of cities than to stick a bunch of cars on stands and charge admission?The realisation that these things are becoming a bit of a yawn has not been lost on the organisers of the British International Motor Show, which has kicked off in London's Docklands.It started with the most memorable pre-launch stunt in recent history, Opel's new Insignia being lowered by a massive crane from atop Tower Bridge. Cute as these things go, but counting for nothing if the show lacked stars and substance.Unlike some other international motor shows, the Brit edition has plenty of both. There are 600 cars running the alphabetical gamut from Alfa Romeo to ZEV (that'd be Zero Emission Vehicles) worth some $100 million.While Britain's biggest consumer exhibition comes close to being all things to all people, it's the 23 models making their debut that is the chief draw for the anticipated 550,000 punters.The show-stealer is undoubtedly the Lotus Evora. The Norfolk marque's first all-new model in 12 years is a mid-engined 2+2 V6, intended to give Porsche something to think about, especially if _ as anticipated _ it combines the brand's trademark lightweight build (just 1350kg) with razor handling.While the Evora represents a significant step forward for Lotus, Jaguar has looked to the past for the XK60, a captivating special edition of the current production coupe to commemorate the unveiling of legendary XK120 sporters in 1948.Powered by the atmo version of the 4.2 V8, the Jag cops enhancements such as 20-inch Senta alloy wheels, alloy gear knob and selector-gate surround, new front spoiler, chrome-finished side vents and special tailpipe finishers. Which is nice.Performance with an eco-conscience? Why not? Mercedes-Benz is showcasing its BlueTEC version of the stylish CLS. Reassuringly for the rev-hungry, there's a Brabus-built Bullit Black Arrow, their V12-engined C-Class.The show's green tinge is evident in the Lightning Car Company's Lightning, a 100 per cent electric GT sports car, and Allied Vehicles' E7 electric taxi, whose lithium-ion batteries imbue the seven-seater with a range of 160km and top speed of 100km/h. Other green gambits include the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic with carbon dioxide emissions of less than 100g/km.While the British blowout is not spoken of in the same breath as the biennial Frankfurt or Paris salons, the lesson for organisers of Australian events are salient.Not least of these is making `events' singular _ just as we have too much government for 21 million people, there are too many annual shows. Oh, and staging it in a venue that's spacious and accessible isn't a bad idea, either. 

Fuel prices and economic uncertainty have not stopped Mercedes-Benz from rolling out a new set of sports stars at the top of its line-up. It has just tweaked the droptop SLK and SL, as well as the four-door CLS coupe, as it applies showroom pressure on BMW, Audi and Lexus rivals.The changes are mainly minor, although the latest SL looks far more aggressive in the nose (and is also $4000 to $8000 more expensive) but Benz is looking closely at the potential for turbodiesel power in the trio.According to president and CEO, Wolfgang Schrempp, the company has shown off such engines in Europe and these are now being evaluated for Australia. The company already delivers more than 20 per cent of its Australian vehicles with turbodiesels.In 2005 it unveiled an SLK 320 CDI tri-turbo concept at the Geneva Motor Show with 213kW and 630Nm and economy of 7.5 litres per 100km. At the same show it displayed a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 diesel SL that could charge to 100km/h in 5.8 seconds.In Europe, Mercedes also sells a CLS 320 CDI with a 165kW/540Nm V6 turbodiesel that delivers 7.6 to 8.1 litres per 100km.The newcomers arrive at a time when the luxury car business is tightening, but Mercedes-Benz Australia managing director Horst vonSanden remains bullish. He hopes the Federal Government will give some ground on the planned hike in the luxury car tax but admits it isn't easy.“There's no denying it's giving us some grief,” he says. But von Sanden, like Schrempp, is looking to turbodiesels to give Benz an edge.“We're very happy with our turbodiesel line-up, from the BClass upwards,” he says.Later this year it will introduce a 2.0-litre turbodiesel A180CDI that uses as little as 5.0 litres per 100km. The engine is already fitted to the BClass. For the time being though, the company is focused on the new petrol-engined trio.The three-model SLK range kicks off at $86,780 for the 1.8-litre SLK200 Kompressor, $112,380 for the 3.5-litre V6 SLK 350 and $164,900 for the 5.5-litre V8 SLK 55 AMG.A new six-speed manual transmission is now available in the SLK200K and Mercedes expects the take-up to be about 25per cent with the SLK 350 being the volume seller.Visually, the SLK gains a modest nip and tuck, with four different frontal treatments, tail-lights and improved interior trim.Five distinct SL models are now available. They start at $223,000 for the 232kW/360Nm V6SL 350, which rises to $468,000 for the 450kW/1000Nm V12 SL65 AMG.The three-model CLS range starts at $143,900 for the 200kW/350Nm V6 CLS 350, $182,400 for the 285kW/530Nm V8 CLS 500 and $257,800 for the 378kW/630NmV8 CLS 63 AMG.The three updates are planned to give a worthwhile sales improvement, as last year Mercedes-Benz Australia sold 570 SLKs, 501 CLSs and 104 SLs.