We’re not ones to dwell on schadenfreude here at CAR – and goodness knows we’ve had a few mishaps in cars ourselves over the years. But we bring you this scoop in the spirit of taking you behind the scenes of a winter test, rather than to poke fun at Mercedes’ test driver who slithered out of control while developing the new 2010 Mercedes CL.
Our man with the polar bear outfit and the long lens reports that a Merc crew was shooting a promotional film in Lapland when the facelifted new CL slid into a ditch. One of the perils of testing in the snow – at least it’s better than hitting an elk at speed. As Mercedes knows to its cost…
Quick, call the AA!
A tricky call when you’re in a top-secret Scandinavian test facility – especially when you’re testing sensitive prototypes you’re desperate to keep away from prying eyes. But a quick call to HQ yielded an unusual rescue vehicle: a $500,000 prototype of the next-gen Mercedes ML SUV, the only 4×4 back at base capable of acting as snowplough.
They spent an hour and a half toiling away on Saturday morning, and only after an S-class and the ML were roped in did the mighty CL move from its resting place. Nothing more than pride was hurt in the incident, our paparazzo reports.
Enough small talk. What’s new on the 2010 Mercedes CL?
Basically, the big Merc coupe gets the same facelift as the pepped-up S-class did last year. Expect new headlamps, tapered grille, new air intakes, LED day running lamps and a slew of new gadgets.
Fresh tech will spot if the driver is drowsy, compensate for crosswinds, pinpoint pedestrians even at nighttime and the new splitscreen lets driver and passenger watch sat-nav and DVDs on the move. Clever stuff.