C 215 Mercedes-Benz CL Coupé First Debuted 25 Years Ago
The Mercedes-Benz CL Coupé C 215 was shown in 1999 and now no longer exists.
In the late 1990s, Mercedes-Benz began to really expand their range of models and this meant tightening up the nomenclature. The previous W140 coupé received its successor in March 1999 – exactly 25 years ago – in the form of the Mercedes-Benz CL Coupé, the C 215.
This new grand tourer was in a class of its own when it debuted at the Geneva Motor Show, showing off the world’s first Active Body Control active suspension system. The C 125 was also the final Mercedes-Benz model to be designed by legendary automotive stylist, Bruno Sacco.
Cutting-Edge Materials And Design
While most Malaysians associate the “round-lights” era of Mercedes-Benz with the W210 and W211 E-Class models, this design language was made to perfectly suit the CL’s elongated silhouette an curved roofline. Mercedes-Benz actually made the CL shorter and lower than its predecessor, but kept the interior at S-Class dimensions. By using high-strength steel, aluminium, magnesium and plastic more extensively, the weight was also cut by a substantial 340kg versus the outgoing CL.
The interior got leather as standard and there was a lot of wood in the trim, but what was really interesting about the cabin was the designo stone trim. Mercedes-Benz also introduced a new door hinge design with four joints. It was over-engineered to ensure the gaps in the door were as tiny as possible. Besides that, there was an electronic tyre pressure monitoring system, Distronic adaptive cruise control, chipcard-based Keyless Go and more… all this more than 20 years ago.
Engine Range
The CL came with eight and twelve cylinder options on both Benz and AMG models. The CL 500 V8 had 306 hp while the CL 600 V12 had 367hp. Cylinder deactivation was standard on the V12 but optional on the V8, and it allowed you to cut fuel consumption. The CL 55 AMG V8 put out 360hp while the CL 63 AMG V12 had 444hp on tap. The top dog was the CL 65 AMG, which arrived in 2003 with a bi-turbo V12 good for 612hp and 1000Nm of torque, making it the most powerful coupé every produced by AMG at the time.
Advanced Suspension
Active Body Control (ABC) was touted as the car’s greatest innovation, allowing it to function as a luxurious coupé while still having sporting genes. ABC combined 200 bar high-pressure hydraulics with powerful sensors and controls to minimise rolling, pitching and squatting movements.
Formula 1 Safety Car
The C 215 Mercedes-Benz CL 55 AMG served as the Official F1 Safety Car in the year 2000 and to commemorate this, 55 units of a “F1 Limited Edition” model was offered to the public with internally ventilated brake discs made of fibre-reinforced ceramics.
Over the years, the CL range merged back to become the S-Class coupé before being merged into the SL.
About the Author
Subhash Nair Written work on dsf.my. @subhashtag on instagram. Autophiles Malaysia on Youtube.
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