2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class

After receiving the invitation to drive the new 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL V-8 variants, we immediately began talking about the big coupes in terms of a comparison test. But we ran into a significant issue: There’s nothing to compare a CL against. In practice, the CL is little more than a two-door S-Class, making it the equivalent of a BMW 7 Series Coupe, or a two-door Audi A8. Trouble is, those last two cars don’t exist.

What about at the other end of the spectrum? You could argue that the Maserati GranTurismo is little more than a Duoporte, though the two-door Maser is much lighter than the big Merc and much more focused on sport than heartbeat-slowing luxury. There’s also the 612 Scaglietti, the four-seat Ferarri, though these days they’re rarer than unicorns, especially when it comes to press fleets. The most logical choice, then, is the upcoming second-generation Bentley Continental GT. Emphasis on upcoming.

For the moment, it seems the CL is without competitive peer. The question then becomes: Does the CL matter? When a car occupies such a unique niche in the market place, pointing out the highs and lows becomes moot, because interested customers will buy them anyhow. After all, where’s the competition? By the by, Mercedes-Benz claims that the demographic buying its biggest coupe is about as special as the car: men between the ages of 50 to 60 who earn between $600,000 and a million bucks a year. Thanks to FOX News, this is now called the Juan Williams demographic.

I’m going to argue that the CL is an important story to tell for a couple of reasons. One is that big Mercedes coupes represent Reaganomics at work. The high-dollar, cutting-edge technology that the aforementioned rich dudes pay through the nose for eventually trickles down to the rest of the three-pointed star lineup. In some cases, all cars everywhere benefit. Take electronic stability control. First introduced in the 1995 S600, it’s now a federally mandated safety item. Another reason for CL relevancy is that the new V-8 engines found in the CL550 4MATIC and CL63 AMG will make their way down to lesser (or at least less expensive) Benzes. In fact, the S63 already features the new motor. Then, of course, there’s my favorite reason: The B-pillarless CL is just a magnificent automobile.