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China auto show: Mercedes-Benz Shooting Break concept previews new CLS

Mercedes-Benz gives us a look at the wagon version of the second-generation CLS at this week's Beijing motor show with the debut of the Shooting Break concept car.

The four-door sporting wagon, outlined in detail by AutoWeek earlier this year, is among a series of new niche models Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche is pursuing as part of an image-building strategy based around the German carmaker's striking new design lineage.

Inspired by the traditional custom-made two-door shooting brake--a genre of car made popular during the 1960s by a number of British-based carmakers--the Shooting Break closely previews the look of Mercedes-Benz's new CLS sedan to be unveiled the Paris motor show in September. It also provides clues to how Mercedes plans to compete against rivals such as the soon-to-be-revealed Audi A7 and recently introduced BMW 5-series GT.

"The Shooting Break is based on a tradition of cultivated sportiness," explains Gordon Wagener, chief designer at Mercedes-Benz. "At the same time it points the way toward the further development of the design idiom of Mercedes-Benz."

While Mercedes-Benz remains tightlipped on production plans, official documentation cited by AutoWeek reveals it has already been given the internal codename X218--a clear signal that the Shooting Break is closer to production readiness than its concept car billing reveals.

As one Stuttgart insider commented: "We don't traditionally provide cars with codenames until they have been granted an official production go-ahead."

Form before function

At 195.3 inches long, 76.8 inches wide and 56.9 inches tall, the concept has the same dimensions as the upcoming second-generation CLS sedan. That makes it 1.8 inches longer, 3 inches wider and 0.6 inch taller than the first-generation CLS. It also rides on a wheelbase that is longer by 0.75 inch at 113.2 inches.

In attempting to go beyond the current CLS--a car credited with breaking the design mold at Mercedes-Benz by boldly placing form before function--Wagoner and his design team have created a bullish looking car that, like its predecessor, is sure to stir controversy and divide opinion.

The most striking element of the new CLS is its gaping grille--a styling feature adopted from the new SLS. Marked by a single-slat chrome insert and large three-pointed-star reminiscent of the look of the classic 190 SL, the so-called soft-nose treatment is set to become common across the Mercedes-Benz line-up in coming years.

The concept's grille is flanked by headlamps with light-emitting diodes for low and high beams, daytime running lamps and turn signals. Set to become an option on the new CLS, they are aimed at providing the car with a differing visual character between day and night.

Read more here.