We’ve known about the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake for quite some time now. And as big fans of wagons, you can bet that we’ve kept this looker on our radars.
We first learned of the CLS Shooting Brake when Mercedes revealed the concept version at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show. It’s safe to say we’ve come to accept the “four-door coupe” descriptor Mercedes first coined with the first-gen CLS and now we’ll all have to get used to the idea of a four-door shooting brake (shooting brakes are usually two-door coupe-based wagons).
Our spy photographer recently snapped a CLS Shooting Brake test mule with most of the camouflage placed where it counts – the back. As expected, the front appears to be a clone of the CLS sedan. The big question is if the production version’s styling beyond the B-pillar will be the same as the concept. The tester in the following photos is sporting a sharp kink at the rear quarter window, though it’s doubtful that will make it through production. At close inspection it appears to be tape hiding a more rounded finish. At the back, the taillight treatment appears to be the same as the concept model.
Perhaps the biggest unknown is if we will see the shooting brake on our shores. It’s an unfortunate fact that wagons are a dying breed here in the States, though we’ve seen a few signs of promising life support in the form of the Cadillac CTS-V wagon, Mercedes’ own E63 AMG wagon (set to arrive next year), and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLC. If the CLS shooting brake does arrive, it will likely get the same 4.6-liter, 402-hp, twin-turbo V-8 stuffed under the hood.
