The one who got away. Unicorn, whatever you’d like to call it. It’s the road not taken, the alternative that might have been. With Mercedes-Benz CLC, Daimler chose the safer route, the one with less controversy, less to talk about.
As seen in these initial sketches, a great deal of Chris Bangle's "flame surfacing" went into some of these; long sharp lines and kinks. More than this, SLR seems to have played a major role as well for inspiration, as some of the rears show in the drawings.
Riding on the same architecture as previous-generation C Coupe, the CLC is pretty new. However, it appears to be more conservative than the C-Class which, especially in AMG kit, looks wicked enough to scare off that wretched witch of the west herself. Perhaps an AMG version might break that shell?
2009 Mercedes-Benz CLC: What could have been
DAIMLER / Mercedes-Benz CLC: The One That Got Away
Bangleism Evident on Paper
By Thami Masemola
January 31, 2008 10:01 PM
Filed Under: Concept Car, German, Mercedes-Benz
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2008 Mercedes-Benz CLC (75 photos)
Comments
ANWARTAREEN
February 1, 2008 12:32 AM
this looks very nice. when it due in the market.
ANWARTAREEN
February 1, 2008 12:36 AM
this is very good looking car. when it is comming to the market.
Straiyan
February 1, 2008 6:47 AM
Mini SLR or what. Well can't blame them, seems as though they couldn't give a flying jumbo jet f*ck about this car.
Aesthetics
February 1, 2008 8:27 AM
there more conservative with cost than design which has to be the reason they went for the C-class looking one, less new parts and more parts sharing, not a good idea when it comes to brand 'image'. manufaturers should take full advantage of a 2-door or coupes sense of style to stir excitement not only in the brand but in the range. a conservative car should stay 4 doors
Straiyan
February 1, 2008 10:47 AM
Yeah exactly, i guess they're more interested in their saloons cos let's face it, 2 door 4cyl coupés didn't make MB the oldest and the most respected lol.
Wunderkind
February 1, 2008 8:39 AM
The inspiration of the first sketch must have came from the stillborn SLK-T from a few years ago. It was supposed to be a derivative of the fixed roof SLK much like the BMW Z4 in proportions and shape.
The bespoke bodywork would have made in very expensive.
But it would have been soooooooooo nice!
A missed opportunity.
Kgomotso
February 1, 2008 6:10 PM
Everytime i see that pic at the top, my heart skips a beat. That looks like it would have been a killer in metal. The proportions are perfect.
dbehmoaras
February 1, 2008 10:38 PM
i like this rendering myself but it looks too much like a bmw the most realistic rendering is the picture with the front of the blue car at an angle with a red reflection because after all this car is really supposed to be a 2 door c-class unless benz intends for this to be a completely new model
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