davidegai

My CL 550 is scheduled for late march delivery, so here in Switzerland last week was my last chance for some equipment changes.

I had been agoinizing about the color combinations as MB seems to be way behind other manufacturers like Maserati or Aston Martin in this respect.

Let us start with the outside color, hoping that I will not stir a too hot debate:

1) black: reminds me of the Blues Brothers
2) blue: is is not metallic enough, good for a chaffeur driven S class
3) flint Grey (I believe it is called pewter in the US) reminds me of a thrash bag color: does not look metallic al all.

so the verdict was a totally unimaginative Silver Grey. I know, I was not courageus at all.

Now, coming to the interior, I did not want to have black, which would have been the no brainer chioce, becuase I wanted something that gives out the interior details.

Cognac looks good on the brochure, but is too purplish in reality.

I ended up choosing the cashmere / savanah beige combination...

... I know it is not a frequent match, but I came to this conclusion by exclusion.

thoughs, anyone?

tomsky

Congratulations. Two brilliant minds with the same thought. I am tentatively thinking of that same color combination. The difference is that I will be waiting until the third model year, so they could get the bugs out.

There is also a possibility that they could introduce another color by then. I have seen Pewter in person on several different models and it's a medium silver. I have yet to see the Savanna/Cashmere interior in person, although I probably will see it eventually, at least on the S class. I would also consider Designo editions. The problem is that I even if I find a Designo that I prefer, I doubt that I would be able to see one in person and would have to order it on faith.

MBZFAN55

As I am sure you know, the Mecedes Benz site in Switzerland has one of the better features for selecting colors of both the exterior and interior of the new CL's, even differentiating between the CL500 & CL600.

http://www.mercedes-benz.ch/content/...360_views.html

The Flint Grey is your Flintgrau, a color I find very difficult to describe. It seems to be very metallic with varying hues of blue, grey and even what seems like brown metallic, dependant upon the light. You need to see it in person to really understand it. The US "Pewter" is your Cubanitsilber. An interesting color that we don't have in the US is Travertinbeige, a darker but more metallic version of the Pewter. I have the same problems you do with my CL order and I still find myself back to Iridium Silver. Mercedes still doesn't have the best paint choices relative to other highline vehicles.

Regarding the interior, I haven't seen the Cognac in person, but I thought it looked better in the "brochure" than it did in the internet pictures. Once again, I think lighting changes these colors, dramatically. I have had grey interior in my last few cars and thought I would get "Black" for a change, although I agree with you that a lighter color shows the interior features, better.

The first CL I saw was the car driven by the Mercedes Zone Manager, and to rest your mind, it was Iridium Silver and Cashmere/Savannah Beige. Like you said, not exactly the most frequent match, but really not a bad combination when you see it.

Good luck with your selection "problem" and please let us know what you decide on,

WSH

Colors are obviously very personal choices/prefs.....

Typically have always gotten blk/blk cars....IMO, like the intimidating, classic look of blk/blk....however, have found that even MB's swirl-resistant, nanotech-based paint does show a few swirlmarks on <3mo blk cars, even after only professional detailing/hand car washes....

Recently got a 550 w/Sport body kit w/Iridium Silver (MB spec'd early US 550s in lim choice of colors/equip).....am very pleased w/it (so pleased that I plan to spec my March delivery CL63 in silver w/blk leather )....a more lustrous, whiter silver than the old, dull ?Brilliant Silver MB previously offered....

May want to also consider titanium grey.

On interior, would observe that (at least in US) the std 550 leather is too crudely grained....looks leatherette-like....perhaps lighter colors show this more? In EU, can one spec a fine-grained leather as an option on 550s?

Also consider headliner choice....in US, std headliner is a cheap-looking fabric....would def spec Alcantara if poss...

Std ?walnut wood is OK.....but w/a car w/sport body kit/wheels and a darker interior, may want blk ash wood instead.....

Also, would, if poss, spec a non-wood, leather-only steering wheel (ideally w/paddleshifters like SL550 w/Sport Package)....IMO, wood offers poor grip vs leather in any even mildly spirited driving.....

davidegai

I absolutely agree about the need to see the car in person. The color preview feature is fun to play with, but it does not render colors in their correct shine and texture. Even the small specimens that can bee seen at the dealership are of no help.

I have seen a few Flint Grey cars and the problem they have is that they do not look metallic at all. My wife's Cayenne has a similar color and it does look metallic. It must be something in MB's paint formula.

Pewter has a bug (which can be regarded as a feature by some) of looking beige under the sunshine.

Travertinbeige looks like a cheap 18 Carat gold filled piece of jewelry, or a gold bullion on wheels, which makes it kind of funny in a country like Switzerland, right? Kidding aside, I find it totally tacky.

Back to the interior, take a look at cognac in a real car, prior to deciding in that direction: in my opinion it looks sort of like a mixture of Nutella and Eggplant, with a zest of tomato juice. Futhermore it totally clashes with the black upper dashboard and mats.

Savanah /cashmire has the advantage of being light, but not too light, and classy, even though it's no match for a Maserati Quatroporte's or an Aston DB9's color scheme. But who wants to trade quality for a a better shade of brown, right?

Anyway the dice has rolled, I cannot change things anymore: it will be Silver Grey and Cashimre / Savana beige.

MBZFAN55

Brilliant Silver was replaced by Iridium Silver in 2003

CL550 (US) has upgraded premium leather, included....not standard "leatherette" S-Class. CL63 more like 600.

No upgrade option on headlner.....need CL63/600

reaganho

The dealership i went to said there is a new color for 07 called titanium grey. Has anyone seen a CL in this color or does any have a picture of it? It looked sort of brownish-grey from the small sample they have.

S550_Fan

I have been going back and forth between white and iridium silver. I just cant decide!

tomsky

Color is a matter of personal preference. I think that white and black look great when they're first washed or waxed. However, dirt does tend to show and ruin the looks. That's why I prefer a medium hue, such as silver. I'm right now leaning to Pewter.