A decade or so ago, nobody would have thought that Mercedes-Benz will ever build a front-wheel drive station wagon that actually has a pretty good chance of being more than just a niche product. Well, never say never because that is exactly what will happen in the upcoming months.
Arguably the sexiest member of the Mercedes-Benz MFA (Modular Front Architecture) platform is about to get a more practical brother in the shape of the CLA Shooting Brake (X117).
Recycling the same idea behind the existence of the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the CLS Shooting Brake, the new version of the CLA will offer slightly better headroom for the rear passengers and a larger luggage compartment.
Even though it will look like a classier and more good-looking station wagon, Mercedes-Benz will obviously never call it that way, with the Stuttgart marketing machine seeing the model as an actual Shooting Brake, since the model it is based on is seen as a four-door coupe.
Sporting the exact same engine lineup as the “regular” CLA, the upcoming Shooting Brake will also receive a 45 AMG version sometime in 2015, especially since even the GLA crossover/SUV also got the bonkers M133 engine.
The following spy video was shot in the cold of northern Scandinavia, where Mercedes-Benz has a not-so-secret testing base.
If our eyesight and hearing don't mislead us, the camouflaged pre-production prototype in the footage bellow is using a turbocharged engine running on gasoline, with most of the driving noises coming from the tires whenever it past near of our videographer.
We are expecting the Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake (X117) to be unveiled in the following months, with the best bet being the Paris Motor Show 2014 in the Fall, as the United States might not get the model.
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
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News