so my recent aquisition was a 2004 Cl600 W215 ... coming from the land of V8, the V12 Twin Turbo was such a revelation ! the car now has 48K miles on it , service A , tranny flush, couple of ABC Hoses, both coil packs .. that what I had to do for the car so far , so except for the time where it was in the shop , the beast is simply awesome ! THere is something intoxicating about that cruiser even without doing any modding to it ...... NOW I am drooling over an 06 CLS55 fully Renntech'd out headers, exhaust, brakes, ECU, IC and I think TB ...( I think that thing is pushing 600HP ) while I always thought that the W215 body was gorgeous , I have also admired the CLS ....and now I am deciding between the two !! I am terrified that I will miss the V12 awesome power .. and I know that sound wise it is rather Docile/ sleeper compared to the famous S/C V8 ... the only thing with the Renntech car is that I will not have to do ANY Modding , having done that for years on many MBs , given family time needs and so on , it is a plus !
I cant have both ...not if I wanted to wife to keep talking to me !! So there is my dilemma .. if anyone wants to chime in with opinions .. by all means !

 

Ive never owned or driven a CLS55, especially a rentech CLS but I do own a CLS500 and CL600. The CL600 is the better car...It is double the price brand new lol

 

There is plenty to love about the CL600 .. do you have the Twin Turbo one ? Because that will also make a difference .. as to the CLS500 ... of course thats a world of difference I am not surprised you think the CL is a better car ..I have driven a Bone stock CLS55 and a CLS63 also Not a Renntech one YET .. both were incredible but then again it is the that addictive V12 VS a V8 ! I love them all !! LOL . Including my W210 E55 .. they are all different .

 

I have an 01 CL600 so it has the old, veryyy old, NA V12. Its just V12's are so smooth and silky and never feel strained. If Merc put a V12 in the CLS, that would be the better car

 

2 doors or 4 doors.

Buy the CLS and turn it into a 4 door convertible

 

Power
Its very funny to see this thread as I just raced one on the weekend. In a quarter mile test. In short - my CLS won - but by less than a car length. So its not much about power- my CLS is currently stock (mods to come -lots of them ) , so I think a Renntech, moded one will fly even more. I also live at altitude (1800 meters- think Denver altitude) so the 11 PSI of the supercharger seems to beat out the lower boosts of turbos. I think at sea level the unmoded 55 would just lose to the unmoded CL600. So the power is like for like - though the mods' on CLS are easier. Servicing....according to Jan, the service advisor at Merc who looks after my car, the CLS engine is more common, and more techs are certified to maintain it. So at least in my country easier to service, though your mods may change this dimension in CLS.

Weight
The CLS also weighs less 1900Kg - versus 2075kg so feels a bit more nimble, the DC Airmatic on my car works brilliantly. I test drove three or four CL's and SL's before settling on my CLS AMG. So my view is biased. But the CLS does feel like is has better grip - the tires at the back are wider 285 v 265, and on cornering, the combination of 175Kg (385lbs) lighter, slightly lower center of gravity, and wider back tires just gives you a more grippy feeling.

Broader Spec list
It depends on the CLS - as I do believe the CL comes with just about everything extra. The CLS you are looking for could be missing Distronic, Tyre Pressure Monitoring, Harman sound, and Sat/Nav, and Parktronic - So check the spec sheet on the CLS to see what they fitted to it - to avoid buyers remorse.


Styling/Interior Exterior
So in short, Coupe; versus four door coupe (its your preference) - Interior is similar but you have two years of further design language evolution in Merc. In my opinion the headlights on the CLS for example is very close to this model year's design language - the 2004 CL - (and my old CLK 55) look like the previous versions of 2001-2006 mercs. In short the CLS looks "newer". The headunits are very similar, as is the quality of sound in the Harman/Karman package. The AMG interior is very high grade, and not much difference in interior build quality.

In your situation, I would take the CLS every time. If you come by South Africa, you could happily test drive mine as comparison.

Good luck in your decision, two awesome cars.

 

Fredbaum ,
Thank you for your post you brought up very good points I truly enjoyed that .
Regards,
Max

 

- CLS55 will feel more raw in every way

- CL600 will feel much more refined in every way


Drive a stock CLS55 back to back with your stock CL600 and then you decide what you like better. A 55 vs a V12TT feel very different, 55 is a raw hot rod, V12TT is a smooth rocket that never stops pulling

A well modded CLS55 VS a ECU / TCU tuned CL600 would be very close, with the CLS55 getting the jump and the CL600 over taking it.

.

 

Your description is pretty much what I am expecting ....havent driven the Renntech 55 yet but I will find out in a couple of days and will report back .
Hope all is going well with your gorgeous CL600 ! Did you get new wheels or you stayed with 20 Euro ones ?

 

I'm still sporting the AMG reps, hard to beat them for the price

 

i blow away cls63's ez.. the cls 55 must be faster??? DON'T SEE HOW??

 

Read up on what some of the 55 guys are doing, a well modded 55 can run in the 10s

 

I got a chance to drive a CL600 around the block and I must say, WOW. The V12 is definitely noticeable.

 

i better watch those 55's then..

 

Not to get off the subject but your car is looking fantastic.
That photo made me reconsider the CL vs the SL600 I was sure I was going to purchase after my S is gone......

 

Thanks man, the car looks much better in person, if you don't car about a drop top the V12TT CL600 's are the best bang for your buck !!

 

Are they 20" wheels?

 

Yes

.

 

Karl , you really nailed it with that beast of yours ... I know mine very well , but I still stare at yours in that picture and it is making that much harder for me to decide .. enjoy and drive it in good health ! I am wondering did you ever sell the Renntech wheels ? I am assuming that youre staying with the Euro wheels

 

I've always loved the CL, giving it the right stance and wheels just takes it to the next level.

Getting one with low miles, well cared for, a V12TT and having SPEEDRIVEN tune the ECU / TCU to over 600 HP and 700 TQ with faster shifting puts a big fat grin on my face every day !

This cars are by far the best bang for the buck out there.

 

damn where are the pix??

 

well here it is , Sorry the pictures arent great , I will put up better ones :
BLack Opal / Cashmere , and everything Renntech ever developed for that car including their CF diffuser I Just came back home from driving the beast ...THat car was in fact Renntech own car used to demonstrate their tuning for that model , and featured on their website ... will be putting up some decent pictures and a review soon ... in a word WOW!!!

 

Fredbaum ,
Thank you again , your comments were spot on . Once I saw the CLS , and drove it .. it was a no brainer .. picked up the beast yesterday . and even my wife who LOVED the CL600 . she actually likes the CLS more !! THats saying a lot. I still say they are GREAT in their own right , and I will sure miss the CL V12 ... but they are so entirely different animals . I think next I will get me a SL600 .... As you said with the CL600 almost everything ( options ) were standard .. on the CLS , Parktronic is missing, thats OK .. but the one thing I miss is the Sirius tuner , it has the Harman Kardon and all but not sirius .. so that I have to figure out how to add. it turned out that my CLS was the one Renntech built as a company Demo , and they pulled out all the tricks ... that makes my wife happy as I wont take the car apart !!! There is the car posing with Mr Renntech !
http://renntechmercedes.com/media/ga...44247062689602

http://renntechmercedes.com/www/medi...17556829262962