Mercedes-Benz CLS 55 AMG

The mad Merc that's out of this world.

We didn't get the chance to drive the Mercedes CLS 55 AMG in deepest Nevada, but if we had, we're sure the newspapers would have been full of "another UFO spotted in Area 51" headlines the next day. This car is a crescent-shaped, warp-drive-enabled über- craft from the 25th century. And we like it. A lot.

Mercedes describes the CLS-Class as a four-door coupé - the point being that you get the slinky looks of a coupé with the practicality of a four-door saloon. Whether there's a need for such a vehicle is beside the point because Mercedes has invented a niche and filled it with something bordering on the brilliant.

Take those looks. Mercedes' traditional conservative ideals have been thrown right out of the window. The CLS 55 AMG is a welcome statement of design flamboyance from the German manufacturer.

The result is pure visual drama. The roofline is low, giving the car a sinister profile. It's like a roof- chopped hot rod, full of Californian car-culture influences, including the four fat exhaust pipes at the rear and the spectacularly meaty 18-inch rubbers.

At the front, the CLS is subtly different from other Mercs too. There's more personality in the "face", with aggressive, sneering headlights and a shark-like lower grille. On the motorway, when other drivers see the car in their mirrors, they move over faster than you can say 476bhp.

Ah, yes - the engine. 476bhp of prime red meat. This is Mercedes' finest power plant. It's supercharged, powerful and torquey, and it sounds like the Minotaur gargling rocks. If there weren't a pesky 155mph speed-limiter in the way, it would send the CLS on to 200mph and beyond...

Also worth a mention is the AMG Speedshift five- speed automatic transmission. It dishes up smooth gear changes, but if you're feeling a little F1, you can swap cogs via shift buttons on the back of the steering wheel.

So Mercedes have managed to create a hot rod, a coupé, a saloon and a technological masterpiece. The CLS 55 AMG is truly a schizophrenic car, but as with all mentalists, there's genius in there too.