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Say farewell to the CL range

SUBTLE: Class
SUBTLE: Class
MERCEDES will unveil an all-new CL at the end of this month, with a first public outing expected at the Paris Motorshow. Here Seb Ramsay takes one last look at the top of the current range.

The sort of person who spends almost £100,000 on a car probably has several vehicles and a contract with Nike, Adidas or EMI.

For the ordinary mortal, a car like the Mercedes CL55 AMG is a nonsense.

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But this is missing the point when you've got money to burn.

Just getting in the car is enough to showcase the kind of electronic jiggery-pokery that the pilot of Columbia would take comfort in.

As you swing the huge doors to, you'll feel a hydraulic pump pull the door closed over the last few millimetres and at the same time the windows drop to stop your ears popping.

Turn the key and electronic arms reach forward to feed you the seatbelt.

Opulent 

And it is opulent, the roof lining is soft suede, walnut veneers cover parts of the dash and doors and when there's nobody in the back seats, the rear headrests softly lower to provide an unfettered view.

As well as Mercedes Command system which controls the 12-speaker Bose stereo, satellite navigation and telephone, the CL also comes with bi-xenon headlamps, a one-touch gearshift, side airbags, window bags and a seat memory.

Then there are the options: a heated steering wheel and Tele-aid, which calls the emergency services if it thinks your CL has crashed.

But then again Distronic is a cruise control system that emits a radar beam to keep your CL a requisite distance from the car in front so that Tele-aid will not be required.

The electronic boot lid is fabulous. Hit the remote key fob and watch smugly as the boot lid raises as you approach.

The supercharged V8's howl through its four AMG stainless steel free-flow exhausts is sublime and the temptation to drive with the stereo off and the windows down is massive.

For a car of this size, handling is mind-boggling.

AMG's Active Body Control system reduces body roll and braking dive to almost negligible levels through all but the tightest bends.

Subtle 

The styling is certainly subtle for such a performance car.

In fact it's hard to spend this much cash on such an unassuming vehicle.

And this maybe the very thing that attracts CL buyers away from the showrooms of Ferrari and Bentley.

Or it could be the electrically-heated steering wheel, but I doubt it.

Whatever the answer, the next generation CL is going to have to be something pretty special.

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