Benz on a brake

If you thought the family station wagon had been put to rest by the rise and rise of the SUV, think again.

Holden's Commodore Sportwagon, for one, has proved emphatically there is life in the family estate still.

Now, there is the Mercedes-Benz CLS "Shooting Brake."

First seen as a concept at this year's Auto China motor show, the swoopy wagon was this week given the nod by Mercedes as a production line reality, with a European launch date scheduled for 2012.

Developed from the recently launched second generation CLS, the Shooting Brake wagon looks anything but utilitarian -- although by comparison with the sedan version, it actually is.

At this stage the company is saying little about the fine details of the CLS Shooting Brake. What is clear is that it will offer expanded luggage-carrying abilities via stretched bodywork rear of the C-pillars (with more overhang), as well as a raising of the roofline from the C-pillars back.

Like the Sportwagon, the Shooting Brake Benz looks nothing like an afterthought. The roofline, and the side window line, sweep back gracefully and incorporate the frameless side glass of the CLS sedan. The rear side windows almost come into contact with the taillights.

Also like the Sportwagon, however, the Benz errs on the side of style, rather than utility. It doesn't appear to be the sort of vehicle into which you'd fling a lawnmower, or a couple of mud-spattered mountain bikes.

According to Dr. Joachim Schmidt, who is Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars, "With the new generation of the CLS we expand our pioneering role in this segment. We aim to extend this success story with the CLS Shooting Brake and complement our product portfolio with another appealing model. At the same time it points the way towards the future design idiom of Mercedes-Benz."

The CLS Shooting Brake will be built at the largest Benz production facility: Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart in Germany, where the company builds -- among others -- C-Class Sedan, E-Class Sedan and Estate, S-Class, CLS and CL coupes, and Maybach.

Sindelfingen also produces SLS AMG and fuel-cell B-Class and, from 2014, will also build SL-Class Benz models.

According to Mercedes-Benz in Australia, the CLS Shooting Brake would be an obvious contender for our local market, but as yet it is little too early for any details of what, and when.

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