Why does the CL Coupe cost so much?
I typed this into my favourite search engine the other day and nothing came up matching my search terms. Why did I type this in, in the first place? Two reasons.
Firstly, I was trawling the Mercedes-Benz website (yes I am that sad), and I noticed the prices of the cars and was surprised at the cost of the CL. Secondly, the cost of a CL starts with the road price starting from £95,525.00.
The next most expensive is the SL which has a on the road price starting from £72,530.00, if you exclude the SLS AMG. You can get the a basic S-Class on the road from £61,440.00.
So for the same money as a CL you could buy a S-Class and either an A-Class or a B-Class or a C-Class or a new CLA or even an E-Class and still have a couple of grand in your back pocket!!
That is a huge price differential. So why? As the tinterweb had failed me, I had to do some original research of my own, something that I have not done since Uni, so it was hard work.
History
Firstly a bit of history, originally the CL was the flagship car of the Mercedes-Benz fleet. The car was based upon the S-Class. The interiors and the engine choices had the same choices available, even the name originally reflected the starting point. They were first named the SEC and later S coupé.
What Mercedes-Benz did was to remove the “B-pillar” from the S-Class and restyle the body, this meant that the car tended to be a little heavier than the original, as the roof and chassis had to be strengthened to compensate. So you get the looks and the performance but does that justify the costs?
What do you get?
Well in 2013, there are 3 basic types in the UK the CL 500 (£94,015), CL 63 AMG (£117,355) and the CL 65 AMG (£163,080) with most of the S-Class Spec, Night-Assist, etc., etc. fitted as standard.
You get 4.6L bi-turbo V8 engine that makes 429 horsepower in the lowest version and end up with a 6.0L bi-turbo V12 that makes an astonishing 621 horsepower on the CL65 AMG.
Not to mention that you get a beautiful car.
The Competition
Now this is where it gets interesting. There is nothing on the market that is in direct competition with the CL. The cars that would or could be thought to be equivalent are the Bentley Continental GT (~£150,000), Aston Martin DBS (~£180,000), BMW M6 (~£98,000) and the Ferrari FF (~£227,000).
As you can see the CL sits nicely within these cars, and yes the DBS is probably better looing, OK lets be honest the DBS is one of the nicest looking cars/things ever, but it starts at £180,000. The Ferrari has an over-complicated 4-wheel system, and costs nearly a quarter of a million. The Bentley is a rather old shape and looks a bit dated. And the BMW….. well enough said.
So overall there is no real competition.
So why does it costs so much?
The only real conclusion that I can come with is, because Mercedes-Benz can get away with it.
The CL class leader in a field of one, or if I am being really, really fair, in a field of 5, if you include the 4 cars above. It has the best specification, the power-train and is the second best looking and if you take in account of the relative prices, the second best price.
So if you are looking for a car that is comfortable, quick, exclusive then you can not go wrong with the either a new or a used Mercedes-Benz CL Coupe.
