New cars: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL550

Road & Track

Mercedes-Benz’s redesigned CL-class coupe is an “autobahn stormer of the first order.” Now with all-wheel drive, it has a more powerful (though smaller) twin-turbo V8 than its predecessor. It also comes with an eye-popping “techno array” that includes automatic lane-departure counter-steering and a stop/start function that cuts the engine at idle, then powers up when you touch the accelerator.

Automobile

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The new CL550 was designed to show off the automaker’s “latest advancements in power train, luxury, and safety.” Not that this “already-sumptuous” two-door needed many changes. It’s an “utterly impeccable machine” with “generous dimensions, plentiful power, and a great presence on the road.” Driving it is like piloting “a private jet on four wheels.”

Car and Driver

Styling changes in 2011 are hardly extensive, but they “help bring the big car into this decade.” A too-long-to-list assortment of standard and optional goodies includes a Splitview infotainment system, which allows the driver and front passenger to see different on-screen images at the same time. Such opulence helps to push this coupe’s price range well into six figures, but “who said exclusivity should come cheap?”