Mercedes finally unveiled the new edition of the Cl-Class at Goodowood Festival of Speed. The car only gets a mild facelift rather than a makeover, and it’s the same story about the interior and powertrains. Mercedes says with the 2011 CL, they want to prove that a high-end luxury coupe can be efficient as well.

Changes to the exterior consist of revised bonnet and grille, newly designed bumper with three air intake openings and a chrome trim strip, and of course LED daytime running lights, and new tail lamps. The biggest change however is the new headlights, which feature Intelligent Light System (ILS) and Adaptive Highbeam Assist as standard.

The new CL500 gets the firm’s new Biturbo V8 which in this car is 4.6 liter and comes with BlueEFFICIENCY badge and offers 435 hp and 700 Nm of torque. Mercedes CL with this engine doe zero to 62 mph in just 4.9 seconds, and yet returns an amazing fuel economy of around 30 mpg. The CL600 variant still boasts the 517 hp 12-cylinder biturbo engine, which enables it to accelerate to 62 mph in 4.6 seconds.

The interior too remains the same more or less, but you now get different kinds of leather upholstery and trimming, four different kind of wood, new multifunction steering wheel, ambient lighting plus a huge list of standard safety, driving assist and convenience features.

As for the standard equipments, here’s the list:

• Active Body Control with crosswind stabilisation
• Adaptive driver and front-passenger airbags
• Adaptive Highbeam Assist
• Adaptive brake lights
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
• ATTENTION ASSIST
• 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission (CL 500 BlueEFFICIENCY)
• Automatic steering wheel adjustment for entry and exit
• Bluetooth^®, SD, USB, AUX-IN audio and video interface
• Brake Assist (BAS)
• ADAPTIVE BRAKE
• AMG Sports Package
• COMAND system with CD/DVD player, SD card slot, USB interface and Gracenote^® data base
• DIRECT SELECT gearshift
• Direct-Steer system
• ECOstart/stop function (CL 500 BlueEFFICIENCY)
• ESP^® with acceleration skid control (ASR)
• Headlamp assist
• Electric parking brake
• Belt tensioners on all seats
• Intelligent Light System with country light, motorway mode, extended fog light function, active light function and cornering light function
• Leather upholstery
• 18-inch light-alloy wheels
• Memory package for seats, steering wheel and exterior mirrors
• Metallic paintwork
• Nappa leather multifunction steering wheel
• PARKTRONIC with Parking Guidance
• PRE-SAFE^®
• Rain sensor with two sensitivity levels
• Tyre pressure loss warning system
• Tilting/sliding glass sunroof, electric, with PRE-SAFE^® function
• Door power closing
• Front and rear seatbelts with automatic comfort-fit feature
• Sidebags front and rear
• Heated front seats
• LED daytime running lamps integrated in bumper
• Telephone keypad
• Cruise control
• Doorhold
• Four-zone automatic climate control
• Front seats with electric fore/aft and height adjustment with lumbar support and PRE-SAFE^® positioning function
• Tinted, sound-insulating, infrared-reflecting laminated glass all round
• Windowbags

But that’s not all! You can also order optional equipment packages as well:

• In the Driving Assistance package PLUS Mercedes-Benz mainly combines systems that can actively help to prevent rear-end collisions: the radar-based proximity cruise control system DISTRONIC PLUS, Brake Assist PLUS and the PRE-SAFE^® Brake. This equipment package also includes Active Lane Keeping Assist and Active Blind Spot Assist.
• An exclusive audio experience and optimum video entertainment for the front passenger is provided by the Front Seat Entertainment package. It includes the SPLITVIEW display, the 6-disc DVD changer and the Harman Kardon^® Discrete Logic 7^® surround sound system with headphones and remote control (standard for CL 600).

But even that’s not the end of it! CL600 V12 for example, gets own exclusive goodies such as Navigation package, Front Seat Entertainment package, Reversing camera, KEYLESS-GO, Convenience telephony and Anti-Theft Protection package. Then there’s the AMG Sport Pack and Designo treatments each with a long list of amazing features.

designo and designo Selection: individual and exclusive

For further individualisation, customers can now also choose from a restructured range of designo features for the CL-Class, which further underscore the exclusive hand-finish character of the luxury model. Ten different designo paint finishes can be combined with ten designo aniline leather interiors and four natural leather interiors – with practically no limitations on personal taste. For designo wood trim, customers have a choice between natural-grain maple and natural-grain matt oak. Trim in black piano lacquer and champagne white piano lacquer can also be ordered.

Two kinds of fine authentic granite trim are available for the CL-Class: Labrador blue pearl and Star Galaxy black. These trim elements are made by cutting 0.6 to 0.8 mm thin stone wafers which are then coated with an adhesive layer to ensure that every grain remains exactly where it is. These thin plates are then ground between two rollers. The result is a visually undisturbed, extremely thin stone sheet, pliable thanks to the adhesive layer applied, which enables it to be moulded around narrow edges, too.

With designo Selection, Mercedes-Benz is offering a special, high-end package of designo features for the CL-Class. Customers can configure their car according to their personal preferences and taste from the different designo aniline leather upholstery, wood trim elements and paint work available. The highlight is designo lettering in solid 18-carat gold on the rear air conditioning unit cover. This is exclusive to the designo Selection. The designo wood/leather steering wheel and the designo roof liner in black nappa leather or Alcantara in cashmere beige, anthracite or alpaca grey round off the refined atmosphere of the car’s interior.

AMG Sports package: CL-Class with a striking sporty character

The AMG Sports package with AMG bodystyling and AMG light-alloy wheels gives the luxurious two-door car an even more dynamic look. At the front the newly-designed front apron ensures an imposing, muscular appearance. Its distinguishing feature is a tapered air intake with a wider lower edge. The side skirts continue the design of the front bumper, with striking contours that find an echo in the rear apron. The independent rear bumper with a black insert is the perfect finishing touch.

Further highlights include the 19-inch AMG 5-spoke light-alloy wheels painted in sterling silver. With their broad format 255/40 (front) and 275/40 (rear), not only do they fill the wheel houses perfectly, lending the CL-Class an exceptionally dynamic presence, but also enhance its handling characteristics even more. In addition, silver-colour painted brake callipers with Mercedes-Benz lettering on the front axle wheels emphasise its sporty appearance. The CL 500 BlueEFFICIENCY with AMG Sports package is fitted with 255/40 R 19 tyres on both front and rear axles. Optionally, 20-inch AMG light-alloy wheels in twin-spoke design with tyre sizes 255/35 and 275/35 are also available.

Wood trim and the wood/leather steering wheel in black ash give the high-quality vehicle interior a very special feel. The standard AMG Sports package also includes sports pedals in brushed stainless steel with black rubber studs and velour floor mats with AMG lettering.

Dimensions and weights

Wheelbase	mm	2955
Track, front/rear	mm	1601/1607
Overall length	mm	5095
Overall width	mm	1871
Overall height	mm	1419
Turning circle	m	11.63
Boot capacity*	l	490
Kerb weight (EC)**	kg	2185
Payload (basis: ready-to-drive state as defined by EC)	kg	435
Perm. GVW	kg	2620
Tank capacity/incl. reserve	l	90/11