Found this some time ago. Could this be the real thing? Will Mercedes make a convertible version of the CL?????




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Looks great! I wonder if it is for the CL, maybe for the next CLK? Does the Autobild article mention CL??
Nice photoshop!

Here's Autoweek's article. Pics look very different from that Photoshop.









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CL of Authenticity: Spies give us a look at the next Mercedes CL
GREG KABLE
Published Date: 6/13/05
Snap... Gotcha! Lightly disguised prototypes of Mercedes-Benz’s new CL luxury sports coupe were caught testing on public roads by AutoWeek’s spy photographers a year before the car goes public. The CL is scheduled to be unveiled at the grand opening of the newly expanded Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart in late May 2006.

The big two-door, codenamed C216, uses the same underpinnings as the new S-Class sedan. The cars will be produced at the company’s Sindelfingen plant in southern Germany.

The new CL will be marginally longer and wider than today’s car. Photos reveal today’s distinctive twin rounded-headlamp design will be supplanted by a single slim bi-xenon treatment that wraps back into the fenders for a more angular look.

Frameless side windows and a heavily curved roofline maintain the theme of today’s model, but body surfacing is tauter and the bumpers more sculptured, giving the car a more aggressive appearance. Bulging front wheel arches and broader rear haunches enhance the effect. Hidden under the disguise on the spied prototype is a deep styling line on the side of the car extending to the tail lamps.

The four-seat interior is designed around a new rotary control device similar to BMW’s iDrive and Audi’s MMI. It sits between the front seats and works in combination with a large monitor mounted in its own binnacle on the dashboard.

The CL, along with the S-Class, continue in their roles as technological showcases for Mercedes. Standard features include air suspension, active body control, adaptive headlamps, radar-based active cruise control, and up to eight airbags.

Advanced features expected on the CL are an infrared night vision system that uses cameras to detect obstacles in low light conditions, and second-generation Pre-Safe, with close-proximity radar that warns the driver when braking distances to cars or objects ahead are judged to be critical.

Despite the technological push, the CL’s brakes will eschew the troublesome electrohydraulic Sensotronic Brake Control system—used on E-Class and SL—for traditional hydraulics. The new stoppers will be upgraded to simulate SBC’s many functions, including using ESP-Plus mechanicals to lightly apply the calipers in wet conditions to dry the discs. It will also provide hill-hold and stop-and-go functions, in which the car can be made to creep forward and then automatically brake in slow-moving traffic dependent on the distance to the car in front.

Powerplants include a new range of four-valve-per-cylinder V8 engines being readied for many upper-range Mercedes models. Details are guarded, but we expect to see both 4.6-liter and 5.5-liter versions in CL450 and CL550 models. Also planned is a follow-up to today’s CL600 with a slightly more powerful version of the existing twin-turbo 5.5-liter V12 borrowed from the Maybach sedan.

That’s not all, though. AMG will upgrade the CL55 with a high-revving, 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V8, replacing the supercharged 5.4-liter engine found in today’s model. Crowning the line will be a follow-up to the storming CL65 AMG. It retains the twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 engine, but with slightly increased output to offset a weight gain.

AutoWeek sources contend there are plans to offer the big coupe with a 4.0-liter 315-hp V8 common-rail turbo*diesel in a CL400 CDI model, but don’t hold your breath waiting for it to appear in North America. And while Mercedes is developing a hybrid powertrain for the S-, R- and M-Classes, it is not expected to appear in the more sporting CL.

The 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic is the only transmission for the CL. On AMG models it is modified to include two paddle-style shifters behind the steering wheel in place of button-style shifters found on today’s models.

and some additional pics

looks more like a CLK if anything....

Not a Cl.

Also those pics, dont look like as agressive as the curent CL. Just wish they progressed on the current model.

I agree. plus something that big in convertible would look good with a Maybach badge

i dont know about Maybach, but it certainly doesn't fit the MB line up.... unless like i said its a CLK...

Good point. Maybe the PS is really foir the next gen CLK. it does don the new face of the upcoming C class.

it looks like a chop of the CL photoshop with no roof.... i wouldn't take it to seriously.