We all know and love the Mercedes-Benz CLS and like any other model, it was born from a prototype. In this case, we are talking about the Mercedes Vision CLS concept.
Mercedes-Benz unveiled the Vision CLS concept back in 2003, at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, where the prototype recommended itself as a spacious four-door coupe.
As you can guess, the interior had much to say about this as the Vision CLS concept set new standards. While the 83 centimetres between the front and rear seats put the Vision CLS in sedan territory, the headroom in the rear (92 centimetres) went well beyond the usual dimensions for a coupe of that size.
In terms of interior design, the Vision CLS used wood, leather and bright colours in order to create an inviting and cheerful atmosphere. Of course, the seats and door panels used soft leather upholstery and the glass roof let in a lot of light.
The trunk offered a capacity of 470 litres and the safety front was covered by adaptive front airbags, window bags and side airbags. In addition, the concept featured the Active Light System with cornering light and the electrohydraulic brake system Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC).
Under the hood worked a diesel engine which offered a maximum power output of 265 hp and a maximum torque of 560 Nm. The power was transferred to the road by the world’s first seven-speed automatic transmission, the 7G-TRONIC.
All the above-mentioned features meant that the Vision CLS could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds and reach an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.
