Photo: S.Baldauf/SB-Medien
Starting with the C218 generation, the Mercedes-Benz CLS sort of introduced a tradition in Stuttgart, and it involves the premiere of high tech headlights.
For the original C218, it was the full LED headlight system while for the mid-cycle facelift it was the Intelligent Multibeam LED system.
With the next generation of the model, rumored to take on the CLE moniker, Mercedes-Benz will introduce the next generation of LED headlights, taking the safety aspect a step further.
Set to be called “Digital Light,” the new LED system will illuminate like a high definition projector, using a chip that works with over a million micro-mirrors. The light will be split, therefore, into tiny pixels, even making the headlamp able to project high-definition pictures ahead of the vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz already showed a concept of the new lighting system fitted on an S-Class, but we will only get to see the final evolution of the technology on the CLE.
To be based on an expansion of the MRA (Modular Rear-Wheel-Drive Architecture) platform, just like the S-, E- and C-Class, the 2019 CLE should come with a lighter but stronger body, a little more passenger space and brand new engines.
As some of you know, the three-pointed star will resurrect the straight-six configuration in 2017, with a modular family of 3.0-liter diesel and gasoline engines, all of which sporting a mild-hybrid system thanks to a 48-Volt setup.
The CLE could be offered exclusively with four- and six-cylinder mills, leaving the 4.0-liter V8 in different steps of tune to be available on the CLS, which is set to become an AMG-only model, part of the GT family.
On the gasoline front, the inline-six will consist of a 2,999 cc mill with 408 hp and over 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque, while the diesel version will deliver 313 hp and over 650 Nm (479.4 lb-ft) of torque without a mild-hybrid setup.
It is not yet clear if the CLE will get its own Mercedes-AMG variant or if it will leave that role to the CLS. Not a lot of the above information has been officially confirmed anyway so you might want to take all this with a pinch of salt.
With the next generation of the model, rumored to take on the CLE moniker, Mercedes-Benz will introduce the next generation of LED headlights, taking the safety aspect a step further.
Set to be called “Digital Light,” the new LED system will illuminate like a high definition projector, using a chip that works with over a million micro-mirrors. The light will be split, therefore, into tiny pixels, even making the headlamp able to project high-definition pictures ahead of the vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz already showed a concept of the new lighting system fitted on an S-Class, but we will only get to see the final evolution of the technology on the CLE.
To be based on an expansion of the MRA (Modular Rear-Wheel-Drive Architecture) platform, just like the S-, E- and C-Class, the 2019 CLE should come with a lighter but stronger body, a little more passenger space and brand new engines.
As some of you know, the three-pointed star will resurrect the straight-six configuration in 2017, with a modular family of 3.0-liter diesel and gasoline engines, all of which sporting a mild-hybrid system thanks to a 48-Volt setup.
The CLE could be offered exclusively with four- and six-cylinder mills, leaving the 4.0-liter V8 in different steps of tune to be available on the CLS, which is set to become an AMG-only model, part of the GT family.
On the gasoline front, the inline-six will consist of a 2,999 cc mill with 408 hp and over 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque, while the diesel version will deliver 313 hp and over 650 Nm (479.4 lb-ft) of torque without a mild-hybrid setup.
It is not yet clear if the CLE will get its own Mercedes-AMG variant or if it will leave that role to the CLS. Not a lot of the above information has been officially confirmed anyway so you might want to take all this with a pinch of salt.
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