The design of the facelift Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake has been uncovered in a series of patent images.
The design patent, which was filed in April of this year and registered in July, reveals the updated CLA will be brought into line with the recently revised Mercedes-Benz A-Class range, which was facelifted earlier this year.
Recent spy pictures have shown the car testing with minimal disguise. It's known that only minor changes are planned for the car, more akin to model year updates rather than a full facelift.
Changes to the CLA Shooting Brake will not be as comprehensive as those to the A-Class hatchback but it will come with some engine upgrades and possibly revisions to the suspension set-up.
The A-Class also came with a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and a Dynamic Plus package that brings a mechanical locking front differential for the range-topping A45 AMG version.
Mercedes-Benz will also give the CLA Shooting Brake some of the design changes applied to the regular A-Class, including that car's diamond headlight cluster as standard, with LED headlights available as an option. The rear gets a revised light arrangement as well.
Another likely change is to the naming structure, with the CLA set to take on the new, simpler nomenclature of the rest of Mercedes’ range. Petrol versions will now just have a number to denote their variant, but diesel models will have a ‘d’ after their name. Previously, diesels were identified with a 'CDI' badge.
Autocar understands that although the updated CLA Shooting Brake is earmarked to go on sale in the UK early next year, it won't be seen at the Geneva motor show next March.
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It will just be in line with
Huh?
Excellent.