The Mercedes-Benz CL500 was a variant of the C215 CL-Class that was introduced for the 2000 model year. The CL 500 was a series of rear wheel drive, luxury coupes that were powered by Mercedes' M113 E50 engine. This 5.0L V8 generated 302hp that was sent through a 5 speed automatic gearbox (a 7 speed automatic became optional from 2003). A total of 32,224 examples of the CL500 were built before the model series was discontinued in 2006. The C215 CL500 was replaced by the C216 Mercedes-Benz CL550.