From nose to tail, the CL is something out of the ordinary.   Seen from the front, it's instantly identifiable as a Mercedes-Benz from its three-slat grille, long a staple of Benz sport models and SUVs.   The famous three pointed star emblem is front and center and as large as a dinner plate, just to be sure you don't mistake the CL for any other brand.   As if you could.  

At 200 inches long, this is a large car, and its size gives it presence.   It has substantial mass too, though the front fenders, hood and door skins are aluminum and the trunk-lid is composite.  

The front end stretches wide and sweeps back into a pair of prominent flared front wheel openings, a design element derived from the S-Class sedans with which the CL shares its underpinnings.   Its 73.7-inch width makes it look solidly planted and substantial.   There's surprisingly little chrome up front in typical Mercedes understatement.   But it's still a knockout first impression.   Projector beam headlights and hidden radar and parking sensors add the final bit of modernity to the nose.  

It's the sweep of the roof that makes the CL's compelling style statement.   The top arcs dramatically over the side glass and down into the C-pillar without the interruption of a B-pillar, the central support post most cars have between front and rear side windows.   The roofline is sleek.   And this is a true hardtop; you can drop the large side windows down for a panoramic view and an open-air feeling.   Handsomely wrought chrome trim framing the large side-window opening emphasizes both its shape and the absence of the second pillar.   In profile, the CL is gorgeous and sporty.  

Even as it drives away, the CL keeps your attention.   The rear window's horseshoe-like shape is especially intriguing, like a canopy pulled taut over a frame and not seen anywhere else in the automotive kingdom.   Below the rear window the tail tapers gracefully into a pair of large taillights and a taut trunk lid wearing a subtle built-in rear spoiler at its top edge.   Sedans don't look like this, and that's just the point.  

Outside of the model nomenclature on the deck lid and wheels, the CL550 4MATIC and CL600 models are essentially identical from the outside.  

The AMG models can be identified by distinctive grilles, wherein the Mercedes star is supported by four chrome bars over black mesh, and by their more muscular-looking front bumper with large air intakes housing round, chrome-ringed fog lights.   Contoured side skirts carry the aggressive lines of the front bumper to the rear, where four oval exhaust outlets punctuate the black air diffuser set into the unique rear apron.   Front fender badges read 6.3 AMG on the CL63 AMG and V12 Biturbo on the CL65 AMG.   Both roll on 20-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels, but with a slimmer-looking forged twin-spoke design on the CL65 AMG.