New MercedesBenz CLA Coupé offers an array of clever solutions
MUSCAT: The new MercedesBenz CLA Coupé is not only the most emotional vehicle in its class, it is also highly intelligent: From MBUX Interior Assist, which recognises operational demands from gestures and equips the interior with intelligence, through augmented reality for navigation and understanding indirect voice commands to the energising coach that provides individual fitness recommendations, the new CLA offers an array of clever solutions. With a starting price of OMR 15,495, there are also ingenious details when it comes to the aerodynamics and new functions for the Intelligent Drive driving assistance package. The design underlines the coupé character with its stretched form and design elements such as the bonnet with power domes or the rear licence plate which has been moved down. As such it does justice to its predecessor’s status as a design icon.
With MBUX, Mercedes-Benz has been revolutionising how to operate a car and communicate with it since the launch of the AClass. “Now we go to the next level with an intelligent interior assistance system for the compact class. By recognising gestures it facilitates natural operation,” says Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and MercedesBenz Cars Development. “This is not the only new feature by which the CLA offers a great deal of automotive intelligence.”
“With the first CLA we celebrated a huge success by selling some 750,000 vehicles and created a totally new segment with a four-door coupé,” adds Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. “The new edition of the CLA has been developed further in an intelligent way and is even more emotional and sportier than its predecessor. Coupled with new operating systems, it sets new benchmarks for the entire class.”
The new generation of compacts has made a key contribution to the rejuvenation and image change of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the CLA is important for winning and retaining new customers in particular.
In its first year, the new CLA will also be available as an Edition 1. In terms of both the exterior and the interior, this limited-edition special model has numerous visual accents which underline its exclusivity.
Design: Pure emotion
“As a four-door coupé, the new CLA intrigues with its puristic, seductive design and sets new standards in the design DNA of ‘sensual purity’. It impresses with its perfect proportions reflecting the first design sketch: a long, stretched bonnet, a compact greenhouse, a wide track with exposed wheel arches and our typical GT rear end with a strong distinctive ‘Coke-bottle shoulder’,” says Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer of Daimler AG. “In short - the CLA Coupé has the potential to become a modern design icon.”
The combination of the long, stretched entry line above the windows and frameless doors give the CLA Coupé its unmistakeable sporty and elegant character. Forming the front end is the striking front section which is raked forwards like a shark nose with a long, stretched bonnet featuring powerdomes. Flat headlamps together with the low slung bonnet and the diamond radiator grille with central star create the vehicle’s sporty face. The two-piece, narrow tail lamps and the number plate housed in the bumper make the rear of the CLA look especially wide.
With the greenhouse moved back, the sporty GT rear achieves a balance between elegance and sportiness. Featuring pared-down lines, the precisely modelled side profile provides an interesting interplay of light and shade. Dispensing with the upper shaped edge of the side wall permits extremely muscular and athletic shoulder shaping, stretching from the front wheel arch through to the sculptured rear. Flush with the outer edge of the body, the wheels with their flared wheel arches and wide track epitomise dynamism and give the vehicle a sporty presence.