According to UK magazine Autocar, Mercedes-Benz is preparing a rival to the BMW 5 Series GT and forthcoming Audi A7 with an estate version of the second-generation CLS. BMW 5 Series GT launched last year and while initially it has drawn extensive criticism from both consumers and automotive media, in time, the current of opinions has changed in its favor.
Back in March 2009, we were pretty confident in saying that “BMW 5 Series GT will follow the same path as the X6 by finding its own niche, clientele if you want, and it will dominate that segment. It is already the first luxurious car to take on that market and it can establish itself as a leader, a follower for other companies. ”
Not even a year later, BMW’s competitors are actively working on similar products.
According to the same magazine, an inside sources mentions that Mercedes is seeking to improve their returns by better utilization of existing platforms, similar to BMW’s 5 GT which shares the same platform with the F01 7 Series.
The new four-door Mercedes CLS Estate will be based on a modified E-class platform. The two will share styling up to the trailing edge of the front doors but the estate will have a heavily sloping roofline and angled tailgate similar to the ConceptFascination revealed in 2008.
Codenamed X218, the CLS estate will be built at Mercedes’ Sindelfingen plant in Germany from early 2012.
Motoring options are still unknown, but Autocar speculates that new V6 and V8 turbocharged engine will be available in the line-up.
With the upcoming Audi A7, the niche will get crowed, but some competition never hurt anyone.
[Source: Autocar ]
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2010/01/04/merce ... series-gt/