We believe that things are much better these days than they were in the past, except for two things: music and car design. This MEC Design Mercedes CLS we have here is based on the first-gen W219 body, and it’s a 12-year-old design reinforces our argument that designers were just more imaginative back then.

Boasting a full body kit and a set of retro wheels, MEC Design Mercedes CLS W219 improves on the design of the original car by adding a new front bumper featuring mesh insert, fog lamp bezels, and spoiler lip, chunky side skirts, rear dissuer with integrated quad tailpipes and a neat boot lid spoiler. Those vintage-looking MEC wheels are another highlight of this car that fill the massively flared wheel arches just so.

The MEC Design Mercedes CLS is a fantastic looking car, no doubt about it. And we do prefer the first-gen CLS to the ones that came after it. But it pressed to pick a favorite variant of this model, we’d have to go with Mercedes’ own CLS 55 AMG. That car with its unique bumpers and massive AMG rims struck the right balance between sportiness and discreet style. MEC’s proposal, sexy though it certainly is, might be a bit too flashy.