Photo: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
If you were allowed to change one thing about a person to try and make them as least desirable as possible, giving them a hunched back would probably be your best choice.
While it may not be the same with cars, having lumps where there shouldn't be any is definitely not going to help in the looks department. Luckily for the upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLS/CLE, it has sexiness to spare, so that unsightly bump on its rear doesn't successfully take away its appeal.
After all, the CLS has always been all about the design. The initial model took everyone by surprise and brought back the four-door coupe body style which, apart from being a contradiction in itself, has created a series of quite pleasant-looking vehicles from the rest of the brands that followed.
Right now, Mercedes-Benz is working on the third incarnation of the CLS, and even though test vehicles have been out for ages, the level of camouflage has remained more or less constant throughout. Well, that hump is new, but it's not exactly the kind of change in the vehicle's concealment we were hoping for.
From we can grasp from these photos, it looks like there's not a lot of change in the car's overall shape. The roof line appears to have a similar angle and the hood still stretches to infinity and back. The only difference - and it might be down to some padding under the wrap - is the much more vertical front end.
To be fair, there are more things we don't know about the CLS/CLE than the ones we do know. For instance, something as plain as the car's name hasn't been sorted out yet. Will it keep the CLS badge, or will Mercedes-Benz go for the CLE monicker, signaling the model's ties with the E-Class sedan?
We also don't know for sure whether the new CLS/CLE will get an AMG version, considering it would step dangerously close to the toes of the upcoming four-door AMG GT. However, it would be weird if Mercedes killed the CLS AMG, so we doubt it'll do it. It's more likely that Mercedes-AMG will find another way to differentiate between the two in favor of the full-blown Affalterbach model.
Now for the things we do know. The CLS/CLE will get the new range of inline six-cylinder modular engines that Mercedes-Benz will use to phase out its V6s, some of which are already available on the E-Class and the new S-Class. A hybrid version is also very much likely, but that's venturing into supposition territory.
We also know that, whatever its name, the CLS/CLE will be launched in 2018, sooner rather than later. Whether Mercedes-Benz manages to keep is design a secret up to that point remains to be seen, but it sure did an excellent job of it so far.
After all, the CLS has always been all about the design. The initial model took everyone by surprise and brought back the four-door coupe body style which, apart from being a contradiction in itself, has created a series of quite pleasant-looking vehicles from the rest of the brands that followed.
Right now, Mercedes-Benz is working on the third incarnation of the CLS, and even though test vehicles have been out for ages, the level of camouflage has remained more or less constant throughout. Well, that hump is new, but it's not exactly the kind of change in the vehicle's concealment we were hoping for.
From we can grasp from these photos, it looks like there's not a lot of change in the car's overall shape. The roof line appears to have a similar angle and the hood still stretches to infinity and back. The only difference - and it might be down to some padding under the wrap - is the much more vertical front end.
To be fair, there are more things we don't know about the CLS/CLE than the ones we do know. For instance, something as plain as the car's name hasn't been sorted out yet. Will it keep the CLS badge, or will Mercedes-Benz go for the CLE monicker, signaling the model's ties with the E-Class sedan?
We also don't know for sure whether the new CLS/CLE will get an AMG version, considering it would step dangerously close to the toes of the upcoming four-door AMG GT. However, it would be weird if Mercedes killed the CLS AMG, so we doubt it'll do it. It's more likely that Mercedes-AMG will find another way to differentiate between the two in favor of the full-blown Affalterbach model.
Now for the things we do know. The CLS/CLE will get the new range of inline six-cylinder modular engines that Mercedes-Benz will use to phase out its V6s, some of which are already available on the E-Class and the new S-Class. A hybrid version is also very much likely, but that's venturing into supposition territory.
We also know that, whatever its name, the CLS/CLE will be launched in 2018, sooner rather than later. Whether Mercedes-Benz manages to keep is design a secret up to that point remains to be seen, but it sure did an excellent job of it so far.
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