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Looking as clean and fresh as it does today, you might be surprised to recall that the current CLA has been around since 2019 – and that it's based on the first-gen CLA from 2013.
It’s not surprising, then, that Mercedes-Benz continued with the CLA sedan’s basic theme and form for the 2023 Concept CLA, smoothed, modernised, and adjusted to fit the new Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture, with a smattering of concept car baubles and frippery.
As concepts go, Benz says this take on the CLA is a “close-to-production insight into the upcoming family of vehicles that stands at the gateway to the brand”.
To get it there, our CGI guru, Theottle, has removed the show-car baubles and frippery to reveal how the concept design will likely translate to the cars we’ll be able to buy.
The Concept’s huge ‘A-shape’ grille featuring many, many tiny star motifs is gone. Theo replaced it with Panamericana- and EQ-style grilles, reflecting that the MMA will underpin ICE and EV variants.
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New Mercedes-Benz CLA, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
On the money?
How close these renders are to the actual 2025 CLA might depend on just how much bling the brand's design boss wants to show off...
Theo’s interpretations are less confronting and polarising than the concept, but Mercedes design boss Gorden Wagener reckons the “star motif [repeating] as animated light bands in the A-shape grille design […] are defining features of our future look," so who knows? Maybe the CLA show car's grille is closer to the final design than one might expect.
In the transition to a more market-ready look, Theo has replaced the wheels and roof of the concept – both of which featured many, many tiny star motifs – with cleaner, less detailed and stylised items.
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New Mercedes-Benz CLA, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
Are we looking at new brand-wide signature elements?
Interestingly, Theo's interpretation retains the star motif headlights and taillights – these would be the smallest headlight globes in production that I can recall. (In Theo's defence, I asked him to keep these! – Stevo.)
He’s also kept the chrome strips over the swollen wheel arches, which could become a signature of several future M-B models. We'll see how that bet pays off...
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New Mercedes-Benz CLA, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
Kombi-Fanatiker, rejoice!
A new MMA-based CLA Shooting Brake wagon has also been confirmed, and Theo has had a crack at that one, too. If you need to transport something fancy, clean – and quite small – this could be a good option.
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New Mercedes-Benz CLA, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
The CLA has been hugely successful here and abroad. Has Mercedes-Benz done enough with the 2024 model (as rendered by Theo, at least) to continue that success? Or should they have moved the game on a bit more?
Let us know in the comments.
Below: the current Mercedes-Benz CLA
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