Mercedes created the CL-class designation in 1996 for the rest of the world but North America kept marketing the car as the S-Coupe (S500/S600) through 1997, adopting CL500/CL600 only for 1998-99. This produces cars where the trunk badge, build sheet and VIN decoder disagree, especially early-build 1997s. …
Naming confusion: S-Class Coupe versus CL, and the 1996-97 switchover
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe / CL (C140) · history