Mercedes-Benz Shooting Break Concept — 2010 Beijing Auto Show

What is it?
Mercedes-Benz Shooting Break Concept

What's special about it?
The Mercedes-Benz Shooting Break Concept will be revealed at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show on Thursday. It points the way to the new look of the second-generation Mercedes-Benz CLS that will appear in September at the Paris auto show. It also indicates that a wagon model will join the CLS lineup.

The Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Break Concept charts a new direction for the CLS model line by reviving the shooting brake, the traditional English utility vehicle created from a luxury car, although this concept has a four-door body instead of the two-door layout of traditional shooting brakes. The German automaker explained why it's called "Shooting Break" and not "Shooting Brake," obviously anticipating questions. "Break, or the homonym Brake, was the name once given to carriages used to 'break' wild horses, so any vehicle that was used when going out shooting was called a Shooting Brake or Shooting Break". Gorden Wagener, the young director of design at Mercedes-Benz, says his group wants to prove that elegance, muscle and practicality can go together.

The Shooting Break Concept also anticipates the design template for the forthcoming second-generation Mercedes-Benz CLS, which will appear in the U.S. early in 2011 with the choice of two new turbocharged gasoline engines.

The Shooting Break is the first public look at the 3.5-liter V6 turbo, which makes 306 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque (14 hp and 4 lb-ft of torque more than the current CLS's V8). For the new CLS, the naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8 will be downsized to 4.6 liters and turbocharged. Although official figures are yet to be revealed, we understand this engine will pack as much as 435 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque (47 hp and 15 lb-ft of torque more than the current V8).

Despite the increase in output, the new forced-induction engines are claimed to boast vastly improved fuel economy along with a corresponding reduction in tailpipe emissions. They will be mated to a reworked version of Mercedes-Benz's 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission featuring a new torque converter that's claimed to provide faster and more efficient operation. Other developments for the European market include a new automatic start/stop system and brake energy recuperation for added efficiency.

Crowning the new CLS lineup will be a successor to the CLS63 AMG. It eschews the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 of today's model for a new, turbocharged direct-injection 5.5-liter V8 (an engine previewed at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show). In standard form it kicks out 544 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque, while an optional performance package will increase output to 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque.

Sporting a broad, single-slat grille, angular headlamps, a long hood and a rounded coupe-style greenhouse with frameless side windows, the new CLS will follow through with the design direction set by the current CLS, which went on sale in North America in 2005. The look has been updated with tauter surfacing and added creases in the sheet metal, giving it a more athletic stance that emphasizes its rear-wheel-drive configuration. It also shares visual similarities to the more formal E-Class. Both the CLS and the E-Class will be produced at the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Sindelfingen, Germany.

The Shooting Break Concept also provides a look at the forthcoming 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS Wagon. This combination of a taut, executive-class look and expanded cargo capacity is meant to prove that practicality doesn't have to compromise a car's style or driving dynamics. At 195.3 inches in overall length and 56.9 inches high, the concept car is a touch longer and slightly higher than the current CLS. In keeping with current design trends, it's also considerably wider at 76.8 inches, giving the Shooting Break loads of road presence. The very same dimensions are set to define the new CLS sedan.

While the exterior exudes a kind of highly technical strength, the warm interior welcomes you with a combination of soft forms and natural materials. The Mercedes-Benz designers tell us that it's very close to the appearance of the production CLS's interior, only with a unique dashboard and trim. Large expanses of leather are splashed throughout, while the cargo space is finished in oak and aluminum.

Mercedes-Benz is being noncommittal about the production prospects of this luxuriously appointed Shooting Break, suggesting it will gauge reaction of the public and prospective buyers before making any hard decisions about whether to press on or not. It is no secret, however, that Mercedes-Benz Chairman Dieter Zetsche has long desired such a car. As the Shooting Break's designers reveal, this is not the first time they have come up with a concept for a sporting wagon based on the CLS. "We did a similar thing back in 2003," one designer told us. "It was taken to one-to-one form and was supposed to have been at the Frankfurt auto show that year. But for one reason or the other the car was never revealed to the public. Instead, they unveiled the production CLS sedan."

The concept carries the production code X218 (the CLS sedan is known internally as C218), which we believe is another indication that this car is only a short step from production. Like the CLS, the Shooting Break rides on the same platform as the new E-Class, with a wheelbase stretched by 0.7 inch over the current CLS's 113.1-inch wheelbase. Like the new E-Class, the car carries all the safety and convenience features of the luxury S-Class in a medium-size package. You'll also note that the Shooting Break has headlights made up from 71 individual LEDs, suggesting that full LED headlights are on the way for Mercedes production cars.

Inside Line says: Americans will probably never love the shooting brake, even if it looks this good. — Andreas Stahl, Contributor