We feel about the portly 5-Series GT the same way Indiana Jones feels about snakes. But the just-revealed Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake Concept? Better than finding a new iPhone in a bar. Glorious photos of the sexy wagon inside.
The CLS Shooting Brake will debut at this year's Beijing Motor Show and carry forward the next generation CLS language previewed in the Mercedes F800 Style. And while calling this five-door an extension of the "coupe" concept is ridiculous, the rest of the car is overwhelmingly logical in the same way a KFC Double Down is.
All the lines, from the masculine Benz nose treatment back into the narrow and reversely sloping glassed-in greenhouse, work in distinctive harmony. Mercedes has been killing it lately and this is just the best example of why Stuttgart is on the march again.
The interior is stunning, combining the best of the company's yacht-inspired design direction seen in the modular storage and the almost bespoke attention to detail in the wood leather. The only segment of this car that doesn't work is the nude engine bay, which is about as detailed as a Brazilian lingerie model's pubic hair.
The engine previewed is a direct-injection 3.5-liter V6 producing 306 HP and 273 lb-ft of torque, a boost over the current offering's 268 HP and 258 lb-ft of torque. We expect this will also come with a more powerful version of the 388 HP V8 found in the E500 and other models.
Yes, this is a concept, but Mercedes doesn't have a choice when it comes to building it or not. Either they make a version of it in the near future or we're putting the whole staff on a hunger strike outside of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in protest.