Interesting chat with BMW i and M design boss Domagoj Dukec at the preview for the new BMW i8 Roadster last night.
He said the i8 was a car for a moment in time, and not always one that had to be in the BMW range being replaced for generation after generation. To that end, he compared it to the BMW M1: “It worked at the time, but why do it more than once?”
Los Angeles motor show - live coverage
Sometimes, not choosing to do something can have far greater power than choosing to do something. Which brings me to the new Mercedes-Benz CLS – is this a car that Mercedes needs to be making?
New Mercedes-Benz CLS revealed
It was such an icon in its first generation, before turning into just another car the second time round. A lovely car, but a car, not an icon. The CLS was a car suited to a moment in time, one that showed Mercedes could make beautiful, exciting cars. And when it became no longer a beautiful, exciting car, the point of it was rather lost.
The new one, revealed at the LA motor show today, looks nice enough, and I’m sure it will find many happy homes. But it’s essentially the same size as the E-Class, which is also a lovely looking thing, and the CLS is more pertinently a sister car to the upcoming AMG GT4, which is something genuinely new and exciting, and for a moment in time. Much like the original CLS to that end.
805bhp Mercedes-AMG GT four-door to rival Porsche Panamera
Mercedes won’t be replacing the top-end Mercedes-AMG CLS 63 version of the new CLS, to avoid overlap with the upcoming AMG GT4. When you’re having to limit the appeal of one car to enhance the appeal of another, surely you have too many similar cars in the range.
The CLS’s place in history is secured, but maybe that’s where it should remain: in history, with the M1 and the i8 which will join it in the future. Because there really doesn’t need to be another i8, its job is done – as was the CLS’s.
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Los Angeles motor show - live coverage
New Mercedes-Benz CLS revealed
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Yes
As long as it sells, there's no reason why Mercedes doesn't need the CLS while Audi feel it's worthwhile continuing in this class with their new A7. And offering a multi-door coupe gives customers another option as they may prefer the looks and convenience of the CLS over the 2dr E Class coupe. And while conceptually the CLS and forthcoming AMG GT4 appear similar they are two very different cars in totally different classes, one being a coupe derivative of a saloon on which it's based and the other is a 4 door Grand Tourer in the same way the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide are. So there is no reason to expect model overlap.
not the top end
"Mercedes won’t be replacing the top-end Mercedes-AMG CLS 63 version of the new CLS"
I thought the top end was the CLS 65.
There's never been...
...a CLS 65. An S65 and a CL65 sure enough, the CLS should really be called the CLE, the S in CLS is just an excuse to charge more than it's worth by associating it with the range above, not the underpinnings it uses. MB did much the same with the previous generation E Class coupé/convertible which used C Class underpinnings.
I for one welcome any
I for one welcome any manufacturer who continues to make big swoopy saloon cars, rather than yet another boring "me too!" crossover.
The E class coupe has it's place, but there are those who want that sporting coupe style but with the practicality of 4 doors - that's the niche that these 4 door coupes try and fill.
The E class saloon is good looking, though one thing I miss from the C and E classes is the traditional grille and bonnet ornament. It would be nice if the regular trim had these and the AMG trim had the star grille.
Does the CLS have a place? If there is demand for it, then yes. It makes more sense than the horrible GLC/GLE SUV coupe things they sell.