Even though it currently doesn't have an official unveil date, the Shooting Brake variant of the Mercedes-Benz CLA is only a few months away from showing its more practical rear end, which doesn't stop engineers still testing pre-production versions of the model in the real world.
The following short spy video shows such a model, with the exception that it is actually a CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake (X117), a detail which can be easily spotted if you know your modern AMGs – just take a look at the engine grille featuring double horizontal blades instead of just one.
To be powered by the same two-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder from the A 45 , CLA 45 and GLA 45 AMG, the model will offer the same output as its brothers.
For those not in the know, that translates into no less than 360 hp (355 bhp) and 450 Nm (332 lb ft) of torque at the crank, enough to move the sporty station wagon from naught to 100 km/h (62 mph) in around 4.6 seconds – or 4.7 seconds because of the model's more substantial weight.
Of course, Mercedes-Benz will never admit that the car is a station wagon, with the official nomenclature to be, as expected, Shooting Brake – just like the CLA is not a sedan but a four-door coupe.
Compared with the “regular” CLA, the Shooting Brake is not only more practical in terms of the luggage compartment, but it will also offer more head-room for the rear passengers thanks to a slightly higher roofline.
Expect the CLA 45 AMG version of the model to be unveiled a few months after the non-AMG variant of the CLA Shooting Brake, meaning that we should see both models in showrooms by the end of the year. Unfortunately, the US market will be exempt from it, as American customers for station wagons have been replaced almost entirely by SUV fans in recent decades.
Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project. Full profile
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