The Consumer Electronics Show has been swarmed with more and more automakers each year, but they typically use the show to unveil a self-driving pod or some useless hypothetical future technology that will probably never see the light of day. This year, however, Mercedes-Benz mixed things up and instead brought a brand-new production car, the second generation of the CLA-Class, to the technology show. With the sleek four-door coupe now unveiled, we can begin speculating about future variants. Much of the focus has been on the upcoming AMG CLA45 model, which is rumored to develop a wild 400 horsepower from a turbocharged four cylinder.

The racy CLA45 may be drawing all the hype, but what about the CLA's more practical variant, the Shooting Brake? Hearsay now suggests that the CLA wagon (because let's be honest Mercedes, a shooting brake needs to be a two-door) will survive for a second generation, with the new model possibly arriving as soon as the 2019 Geneva Motor Show in March. The styling should be easy to predict, and we can look to rendering artist XTomi to provide us with a vision of the next Shooting Brake.

The front end will look identical to the normal CLA, and expect the rear end to receive a tapered roofline and thin rear windows, which, while poor for visibility, are undoubtedly stylish, and style is the CLA's raison d'être. Like the four-door coupe version, the Shooting Brake will gain interior space over its predecessor, and will add extra trunk space thanks to the raised roof. Be on the lookout for the CLA Shooting Brake to arrive soon, and expect it to sport a group of small gas and diesel engines, depending on the market, mated to manual and automatic transmissions. We also anticipate the Shooting Brake to be offered with the 4Matic all wheel drive system, crucial for snowy regions.