Mercedes Concept Style Coupe Brings CLS Looks Down Market

Mercedes will introduce its new Concept Style Coupe to the Auto Salon China in Beijing on April 23, and the little sedan brings the coupe/sedan hybrid style of the CLS to a smaller form factor. It is powered by a new turbocharged, four-cylinder engine with 211hp, Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel drive system and 7G-DCT transmission.

"The almost production-standard Concept Style Coupé sets a new benchmark for avantgarde design in the executive segment. Its breathtaking proportions, sinewy fluid surfaces and sculptural lines are the physical expression of our dynamic design idiom," said Gorden Wagener, Head of Design at Mercedes-Benz. 

The design borrows from both the new A-Class and CLS. The A-Class elements are in the front end with a more pointy, wider nose than previous Mercedes. The CLS comes from the car's general form that looks like a coupe but is actually a sedan. The concept also has a full glass roof that starts at the windshield and runs to the headrests in the rear seats in a single, long piece. Mercedes says that the bar separating the rear glass from the front glass is meant to look like a convertible's rollover bar. There is no actual B-pillar. The doors close over each other to provide side impact strength, but the windows can be put down with no B-pillar. 

The interior kind of ruins the great looking exterior

© photo courtesy of: Mercedes-Benz

From low angles the front has a fish-like appearance due to the wide grill, iris-like headlights and dual powerdomes on the hood. All of the elements combine together to look like a fish's face with gills. However, looks improve when you view the car from normal angles and are able to see the blade-like side mirrors and glass roof. 

The headlights have individual LEDs. In standby mode, the middles shine red, and when the car is started, the individual elements light up one after another. 

Inside, Mercedes has covered the vehicle in leather, Alcantara and carbon fiber trim. It also features neon green trim around the air vents, on the seats and on the steering wheel that certainly draws the eye. However, the exterior of the car is so upscale that the neon green does not really fit inside. It has two, separated instruments for the tachometer and speedometer with an information display in the middle. One of the other big flaws of the interior is the large, center-mounted infotainment screen. While these are necessary on modern luxury cars, Mercedes has placed the screen in a way that makes it look like an afterthought. There has to be a better way to incorporate these screens into the drivers view while not making them look like they are glued onto the center of the dashboard. The seats are the same units for the upcoming A-Class Sport but with new upholstery. 

Mercedes is not saying that this car is going into production, but it has hinted in the past that it wants to make a smaller version of the CLS.