The rarest of the Mercedes-Benz production cars for the late 90s was the CL600. The grand touring coupé version of the luxurious S-Class, this was powered by the limited-production 12-cylinder engine, identified by the V-12 emblem on the door pillar. The car was rated to have a top speed of 179 mph, epitomising the term ‘autobahn courier’, as it was a car as fast as it was subtle.

Penned by the legendary Italian designer Bruno Sacco, the squared-off pillarless coupé is a handsome beast. Slab sided, elegant, and beautifully discreet. Forget the S class, the CL 600 W140 was at the top of the Mercedes Benz tree in period and would have set back the original buyer £107,000 excluding options. In today’s money that is just shy of £200,000 which priced it between a V12 DB7 of the era and a Ferrari 550.

Clearly a car designed for company CEOs to hurl them down the autobahn at silly speeds without breaking a sweat, just in time for that meeting. Created as part of the 1980’s ‘arms race’ between Mercedes and BMW, the CL600 was the first production car fitted with a V12 from Daimler-Benz AG and caused quite a stir upon its launch. In fact, Greenpeace actually protested against the mammoth V12-powered bruiser on the roof of the Sindelfingen plant in 1995.

Mercedes Benz also made engines a lot better than their BMW rival, much better… The Mercedes V12 had around 70 bhp over the BMW V12 of the time and was certainly built to a higher quality. These V12s seem to be bulletproof and its common to see them do big miles largely trouble free.

Underneath the bonnet you will find the Mercedes M120 V12 unit that was used in many performances and top of the range Mercedes and the block was even used in the Pagani Zonda, and after a few heavy-footed drives, you can quickly see why. Keep your foot planted, let the revs build and this car can certainly shift, its actually quite hard to believe such a big, heavy, comfortable German slab of 90s engineering can actually shift the way it does.

It quite quickly becomes quite clear how special the CL600 is when you’re behind the wheel. The 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds may not sound like anything to write home about in today’s day and age, but planting your foot at motorway speeds is where this car really shines. Its rapid.

You have to try it. Along with the eco-warrior-shocking V12 under the bonnet came Mercedes’ fantastic engineering, at a time when many enthusiasts regard Mercedes-Benz to be at their ‘peak’ of producing over-engineered, high-quality cars that were built to last. The car here then is a discreet business powerhouse that will shift the driver and 3 passengers comfortably and at speed. This could be argued as one of the, If not best cross continent crusher of the late 90s.

This CL 600 has recently been filmed with Jayemm on cars. A highly regarded automotive Youtuber so keep an eye out on his page to see his first impressions on this very car, the video should be out soon.

This CL 600 retains an incredible and well documented history. 

There are invoices galore and it appears that it has never been run on a shoe string. The invoices run deep into 5 digits when totalled together and for the majority of its life it has been looked after by Mercedes Benz of Newbury. The mechanical maintenance has clearly paid dividends to this car and still drives very well. 

The engine pulls strong, the car corners well even for such a brute, and there aren’t any knocks or bangs from the suspension when driving. 

The car has passed a few hands over its time, not uncommon for a V12 Mercedes. The first owner had it for a short period of time. It is believed the original owner sold the car to Tom Hartley cars. All the invoicing and sales receipt remain from when Tom Hartley sold the car in the early 2000s. 

The car has also been passed through the hands of Charles Ironside in 2010, a highly regarded Mercedes Benz specialist that sells and prepares classic Mercedes to very high standards. The longest-term owner of the vehicle is believed to be the second owner. This gentleman owned the car from 2001 to 2010 in which he took the car from just over 10,000 miles to just over 100,000 miles. 

The car was clearly used as a business mans express during this period. This owner also made records of every single fill up he made, and 95% of all fill ups were made using premium fuels. To have this sort of history is unheard of and is lovely to see that the car has been drinking the right stuff for the majority of its life. 

The car retains its book packs, old mot certificates, tax discs, 2 keys, service book, personal documents, sales invoices, logged MPG records over 10 years, fuel type records, Old V5s from previous owners etc etc. This really is a comprehensive history. The car also comes with an original dealership brochure! 

Very rare to see these days and would make for a great Sunday read. Having said all this, the car is due another service soon to keep the records up to date. The service book has been stamped however its most recent servicing visits had not been stamped in the book.

The interior is in good condition for the age and mileage. The top-notch interior build quality has certainly stood the test of time. The only areas to note that has some scuffing is the driver’s door handle (Some of the wood lacquer is starting to flake) the driver’s side bolster has some light scuffing and the lower plastic panel to the seat has been marked. 

The interior is a quality place to be. Please note the car is being sold as an electrical project. Some of the interior features no longer work on the button. The sunroof is believed to have seized, one function on the driver’s seat has stopped working however still very functional. The windows seem to be temperamental; the rear folding headrests don’t seem to work on the button, the blower fan works, however doesn’t seem to be very strong. 

Having said this, it warms or cools the cabin well still. The near side wing mirror glass also doesn’t seem to adjust. There may be some other small electrical issues that haven’t been discovered yet. These electrical issues seem to be inevitable of these 90s Mercedes. 

Therefore, this car is sold as a bit of a project as ideally these things need seeing too for it to be a very nice example. Most of the other electrics work for example the heated seats, most of the seat adjustment, radio, speakers, soft close, adjustable steering wheel, central locking etc etc. 

The car wears its midnight blue paint extremely well and looks bright and good round the car. The wheels also look fabulous having recently been refurbished. The car has recently undergone some paint correction and looking through the history file the paint isn’t all original but whoever has touched the body of the car has certainly done a good job. 

The arches and sills are free of rust too. The paint on the front bumper and bonnet are peppered with stone chips as to be expected for a motorway cruiser and therefore this paint is reckoned to be original. Overall, the car presents itself very well, looks clean and wouldn’t look out of place in any collection. 

The car seems to drive very well. Although the brakes do need a firm push. This may be just a characteristic of the CL but thought it would be worth noting. The steering is precise, engine is smooth, and the car sits flat. The self-levelling suspension is still in working order. The car has had a recent MOT and only has one advisory relating to some light misting on a front damper. 

The car hasn’t been serviced recently so would ideally need one in the near future. The car has spent the last 10 years doing very little mileage and therefore may need some light recommissioning work in the near future. This could be said of any car that has done little mileage over a long time but it’s just worth considering. There is also a very slight humming from the rear at around 50 mph, but clears with speed. 

Potentially a wheel bearing on the way out? The car will be sold with all issues and sold as a light project. The car has recently undergone in the last couple of months over £2000 of work including a small brake overhaul for its most recent MOT, the car has just been fitted with brand new Continental Premium Contact 6 tyres all round, the car also benefits from recently refurbed wheels too and some paint correction round the body and certainly looks great. 

 

These cars have a super cool appeal. What’s not to like? A big, comfy, V12 autobahn stormer. This car would suit the collector, the Mercedes enthusiast or someone looking to experience naturally aspirated 6.0 V12 power. 

The CL 600 W140 really is a unicorn and supply is scarce so now is probably the time to pick one up as who knows when the next opportunity could be…