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When Mercedes-Benz showed us the Ocean Drive concept in Detroit, it was very clear that the enormous four-door convertible show car fell squarely into the "design study" category and not into "production preview". At the same time, like so many other show cars, DCX was carefully watching how the public received the idea. The feedback they apparently observed was so positive they've decided to build it. Sort of.

In a recent interview in Auto Motor und Sport, a senior DaimlerChrysler exec hinted that the company was carefully considering adding a convertible version of the CL luxury coupe, itself a two-door model based on the S-Class luxury sedan. The Ocean Drive concept was more closely based on the S-Class directly, uniquely retaining its four-door setup but chopping the roof. The production version, if built, will have a more conventional two-door setup instead of four, and is expected to be called the CLC, a name which, as we reported back in December, was registered for use by Mercedes.

Although others (including their own Chrysler Sebring) have pulled off proper four-seat hard-top convertibles, the sheer size of the CLC will likely dictate that it will, like the Ocean Drive, have a fabric roof. That should sit fine with customers, as the CLC's most direct competition will come from the Bentley Continental GTC, whose roof is also canvas. Engines, meanwhile, are expected to carry over from the CL-Class coupe in V8, V12 and torqualicious AMG versions, and reports suggest the possible addition of a diesel model and possibly even 4Matic all-wheel-drive. Bentley has been officially put on notice.

[Source: Motor Authority]