Mercedes-Benz has confirmed its CLS ‘Shooting Brake’ (essentially, a luxury sports wagon/estate) for production. The car will launch in 2012 and be made at the Sindelfingen, Germany, plant.
The car was first shown as a concept at the Shanghai Show earlier this year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars said: “In 2004, Mercedes-Benz established a new vehicle segment with the four-door Coupé CLS and created a design icon. 170,000 customers around the globe show how enthusiastic this car has been received by the market. The decision to build the CLS Shooting Brake underscores the leading role of Mercedes-Benz in regards of innovative passenger car concepts and design – and that is exactly what the customers expect from us.”
The Sindelfingen plant is currently building the C-Class saloon, the E-Class saloon and estate, the S-Class and the coupés CLS and CL as well as the Maybach models and Mercedes-Benz Guard vehicles. Recently, the plant started to produce the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and a small series of the B-Class powered by a fuel cell.
As of 2014, the Mercedes-Benz SL will also be manufactured in Sindelfingen. The decision for the CLS Shooting Brake also reflects the flexibility of the plant, Mercedes said. The new model will be built on the same production line as the CLS and the E-Class saloon.
Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG for Production and Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars & Mercedes-Benz Vans said: “This new model, with its high emotional appeal, is another highlight for the Sindelfingen plant. The location decision is evidence for the significance of the plant as competence centre for the luxury class. The CLS Shooting Brake will contribute to the sustainable capacity utilisation in this core location of our production network.”
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataThe car is described as a coupé-based design; it had its premiere as a show car at Auto China in April 2010.
Mercedes says the proportions are clearly those of a coupé: the long bonnet, narrow-look windows with frameless side windows, and dynamic roof sloping back towards the rear. It is only when taking a second look that it becomes clear that the Shooting Brake actually has four doors and a ‘large rear lid’.
See also: SHANGHAI PREVIEW: Mercedes to show ‘shooting break’ concept
NOTE: the origins of the name Shooting Brake/Break
Break, or the homonym Brake, was the name once given to carriages used to “break” in wild horses and also to restrict (or “brake”) their urge to move, so that they could be put to use as work horses. Since the carts could easily be broken as part of this process, people tended not to use ones which they may have urgently needed for other purposes. Where necessary, “Brakes” were often fitted out with variable bodies, which were only really used to carry along anything that may have been necessary for the hunt, for example. Any such vehicle which was used when going out shooting was called a Shooting Brake or Shooting Break. In the 1960s and 1970s motorised Shooting Breaks were popular in Great Britain – exclusive cross-over vehicles, which combined the luxuriousness of a coupé with the luggage space of an estate.
