2007 CL600
You're reading 2007 CL600, posted on Monday, August 13th, 2007 at 5:42 pm in CL Class, Reviews, on BrainBloggers at the Mercedes-Benz blog. More after the jump.
Everyone raved about the CL550, but that was before they took a peek at the CL600. The CL600 is full of power, beauty, safety, and some new features that you won’t see in your average every day vehicle. The price hasn’t been released yet, but you can just imagine what the price will be.
One of the best things about the Mercedes CL600 is the big, bad engine that lies beneath the hood. The big V12 makes so much torque that Mercedes’ newer seven-speed automatic transmission can’t handle it, so its 612 pound-feet of grunt is spread to the rear wheels through the older but stronger five-speed automatic. It, too, had to be beefed up even more in this application, with stronger planetary gears.
The CL600’s massive torque makes acceleration so effortless that vigilant monitoring of the speedometer is needed to avoid unsociable, license-threatening speeds. The 12-cylinder also makes 510 hp thanks to twin-turbos, 36 valves and a performance-tuned exhaust. We made animal sounds the first time we took the 5.5-liter engine up to its 8300-rpm redline.
One of the best and safe features that comes with the CL600 is a radar. The radar is at the heart of the nifty new electronically assisted parking system, Park Assist, which, with the aid of sensors in the front and rear bumpers, can measure whether a suitable parking space is available while driving past at speeds up to 25 mph.
Once a space is found, a blue parking symbol illuminates in the dash. Then, after the car is stopped and put in reverse, the central display screen shows a symbolic bird’s-eye view of the situation with colored lines to guide the driver into place(something everyone needs).
Inside the CL600, you sit in heated and ventilated active multicontour front seats covered in “exclusive premium” leather. An Alcantara roof liner is also standard and poplar wood trim brings a modern, airy richness to the beautifully restyled interior. An electronic trunk closer makes life a little easier for everyone.