Finally Mercedes releases the first pictures and details of the new Shooting Brake version of the CLS Class, ahead of its Goodwood FoS debut. The car might not look as elegant as the concept version, but it is still quite a looker. The front-end styling has not changed, but the new rear compartment adds 16mm to the length of the car, and also a big rear hatch. 

The shooting brake offers 590 liters of luggage space, expandable to 1550. As an option you can have the boot floor covered in wood, which looks great, but might not be very practical if you are planning put your dog in there. The poor thing will be sliding all over the place! Not to mention the rear hatch is powered.

Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake gets the same range of engine as the CLS saloon, including a 250 CDI diesel with 204 hp, a 350 CDI V6 diesel with 260 hp, a 305 hp BlueEfficiency petrol V6, as well as a 408 hp V8 petrol. 4Matic system is also available for some models to make the car more versatile. The car comes as standard with the 7G automatic transmission with ECO mode featuring start/stop.  You have to wait a bit longer for the AMG version, but when it comes it will have the 5.5 liter BiTurbo V8 with more than 500 horsepower.

The Shooting Brake being a family car, it is packed with safety features. The list includes, but not limited to, Active Blind Spot Assistant, Distronic Plus, Pre-Safe, the Lane Keeping Assist and Actie LED headlights. Comfort and convenience features are similar to the sedan.

Following its Goodwood Debut, the CLS SB will go on sale in Europe from November.