????梅賽德斯奔馳（Mercedes-Benz）從不放棄任何一次自抬身價的機會。首先最讓奔馳引以為傲的是它在1886年設計出了世界上第一輛汽車，不過現在奔馳又想讓大家知道，它創造了“一種新的汽車車型”——也就是四門轎跑，不過它本質上只能算是一次外觀設計上的創新。這款新車就是奔馳的CLS。

????CLS可謂是一匹黑馬，2003年，它從斯圖加特市的奔馳設計中心橫空出世。它的設計特立獨行，不同于路面上行駛的任何一款轎車。自問世起，CLS已經獲得了巨大的成功，在全球共賣出17萬輛。而且它也受到了德國其他競爭廠商的競相模仿。奔馳對CLS的2012款進行了重新設計，它現在是目前市面上最優雅、同時也是最搶眼的車型

????在四門轎跑的定義問題上，奔馳稱CLS“集跑車的優雅和動感與轎車的舒適和實用于一身”。換句話說，所謂四門轎跑車型首先是一款四門轎車，只是它的車頂弧度更大，就像一款雙門跑車一樣。奔馳公司還表示：“我們勇敢地向市場推出了一種全新的汽車理念，全世界的顧客都因此獲益匪淺。”這未免太往自己臉上貼金了。

????這種車型究竟有多新穎？要說奔馳公司讓四門轎跑的理念重獲新生，這種說法倒并不算夸張。不過從以下的幾幅圖片中你就可以看出，四門轎跑并不是什么革命性的概念，以下謹為大家列出四門轎跑家族的幾款代表性車型，它們都是奔馳CLS的叔伯弟兄，最早的一款可以追溯到1940年。

????Mercedes-Benz never ignores an opportunity to pat itself on the back. Already credited with devising the first automobile in 1886, it wants to be known for creating also "a new vehicle category." This time, the claimed credit is essentially for a design exercise -- the four-door coupe. The new car in question is the CLS.

????The CLS unexpectedly emerged from Mercedes's design center in Stuttgart in 2003, looked like nothing else then on the road, and has been a big success -- having sold 170,000 worldwide. It has also been imitated by Mercedes's German competitors. Redesigned for 2012, it is one of the most elegant and eye-catching cars on the road -- hugely appealing despite the usual stiff Mercedes price of $83,095.

????In defining the four-door coupe, Mercedes describes the CLS as combining "the elegance and dynamism of a coupé with the comfort and functionality of a saloon. " In other words, a four-door styled with a more sharply curving roofline -- like a two-door coupe. Mercedes adds, perhaps redundantly, "Customers all over the world benefited from our bold move to launch a completely new vehicle concept onto the market."

????But how new is it really? Give Mercedes credit for reviving and reinvigorating the concept. But it isn't exactly revolutionary, as we will see in the following gallery. Herewith, some branches on the CLS family tree, going back to 1940.