Last week I wrote about a couple of BMW 650i’s and the Car and Driver review suggesting big coupes were not long for this planet. Well, here’s another big coupe unicorn, a 2012 Mercedes CL550 (C216) – the third and last generation of the CL class, as Mercedes transitioned to the S-coupe in 2014. But the CL has always been the coupe version of the S-class Mercedes, a big, luxurious, powerful GT. Mercedes never sold more than 4,000 of these in the US, and in 2012 only 723 units. So this CarMax offering is a bit rare. Last year I covered a few of the older ones, far less expensive 2007 models with fewer horsepower, and it’s been a long time since CarMax offered one. Of course, I would not recommend one without the bumper-to-bumper MaxCare warranty – repairs ain’t cheap.
The CL550 knocks out a 0-60mph run in 4.6 seconds, courtesy of a 429hp twin-turbo V-8. The car is all wheel drive, has my beloved night vision (Car and Driver review of Mercedes night vision here), and pretty much every luxury option available in 2012. The car listed for about $130,000 new and six years later is about $95,000 less. Here’s the review from Autoweek back in the day. I’ve driven CL550’s and have only one beef. The car is for secure drivers only, since it’s one of the most anonymous high performance luxury cars out there. If you likes sleepers, you’ll love the CL550. They don’t even look large on the road. That said, the CL550 should be my perfect car. When I had my S55 I was always aware of the size of the gigantic car. I loved it, but since I largely drove solo I didn’t need all that heft. The CL550 is an S-class from the driver seat forward – how nice it would be to have all that luxury and performance up front without the tail? Find this one owner car here in Colorado. If the link is dead it’s sold, on hold or being transferred.
