One particularly welcome touch is Mercedes' return to the big proud three-pointed star in the grille. That emblem was a hallmark of previous Mercedes coupes, making them immediately identifiable on the highway, and suggesting that drivers of lesser cars skedaddle into the right-hand lane. The coupe disposes entirely of the B-pillar, another attractive element reminiscent of an earlier age of sporty coupes. The rear windows slide all the way down into body, providing an exceptionally open environment.

In silhouette, the cabriolet is indistinguishable from the coupe, with only the barest hint of a break in the roofline where it meets the trunk lid. The fabric top is fully lined and insulated and tucks neatly into the boot, where it fills up about a third of the trunk's limited space, which already gives up almost 2 cubic feet to the coupe's. Rearward vision is impressive for a convertible, although not the equal of the coupe.

In the event of an imminent collision or roll-over, two roll bars stylistically integrated into the rear seat head restraints deploy fully and lock in place within 0.3 seconds.

A nice touch is the absence of any visible antenna for radio, cellular telephone or navigation system, a first for convertibles. This is made possible by replacing the conventional steel trunk lid with a composite design that allows the integration of the antennae into the lid's structure.

It's a tribute to the CLK's design that the car looks much smaller than it actually is. The CLK shares its platform with the C-Class, and despite its compact appearance it's actually longer than the C-Class sedan.

Several details distinguish the three models. The CLK320 has neutral-tinted glass and gray vanes on its grille; the CLK500 gets blue-tinted glass, high-gloss black vanes with chrome trim on its grille and an AMG styling package comprising a front valance with mesh grillwork and three separate sections and unique rocker panels, rear valance and alloy wheels.

The CLK320 comes standard with 16x7-inch front wheels with 205/45HR16 tires and 16x8-inch rear wheels with 225/40HR16 tires; 17-inch wheels and tires are optional, though they are slightly taller than the CLK500's setup. The CLK500 gets 17x7.5-inch front wheels with 225/45ZR17 tires and 17x8.5-inch rear wheels with 245/40 ZR17 tires. The CLK55AMG softens the rear tires with a 45 aspect ratio.