XYZ Racing Gravel Rally Coilovers — Mercedes-Benz CL C216 2006-2014

The C216 CL is a 2-tonne luxury coupé riding on air from the factory, and that’s exactly the problem the Gravel Rally coilover is built to solve when the road turns to loose surface. Strip the ABC or Airmatic out of a C216 and what’s left is a long-wheelbase chassis with a heavy nose, a 5.5-litre V8 or 6.0-litre V12 sitting well forward, and a body that needs serious wheel travel to stay composed on broken terrain.

For owners running a C216 on gravel stages, forest tracks, or rough-road touring, the Gravel Rally spec gives the chassis the long-travel damping and raised ride height it never had from Mercedes-Benz. This is the rally-stage answer for a car that was originally engineered for autobahn cruising.

What this coilover does for your 2006-2014 Mercedes Benz CL C216

Swapping the C216’s factory air suspension for the Gravel Rally coilover transforms how the car copes with surface inputs that would otherwise overwhelm the standard setup. Long-stroke dampers absorb mid-corner ruts and compressions without crashing into the bump stops, and the increased ride height clears the kind of debris that grounds a stock CL within metres of leaving tarmac. Spring rates are pitched lower than the circuit-focused kits, keeping the heavy front axle compliant when the surface keeps changing under it. The result is a CL that finally feels like it has the suspension travel its mass deserves, with steering response that holds up when the wheels are loaded asymmetrically.

About the Gravel Rally coilover

The Gravel Rally is XYZ Racing’s loose-surface specification, built around a monotube damper body with externally adjustable compression and rebound. Spring rates are chosen for grip and compliance rather than body control on smooth tarmac, and the damper stroke is extended to handle the larger inputs gravel work demands. Ride-height adjustment is via the lower mount rather than spring preload, so wheel travel is preserved across the adjustment range. Top mounts are reinforced to take the repeated shock loading of broken surfaces, and the seals and shaft finishes are specified for grit ingress rather than circuit cleanliness. It is a coilover engineered around the assumption that the road surface is the variable, not the chassis setup.

Fitment for the Mercedes Benz CL C216 (2006-2014)

This kit is fitment-specific to the C216 chassis CL – the third-generation CL Coupé sold from 2006 through to the 2014 run-out. It replaces the factory ABC or Airmatic system entirely, so buyers should be ready to delete the air system and address any stored ride-height fault codes after installation.

What buyers also search for

• Mercedes Benz CL C216 coilover conversion to replace failed Airmatic or ABC suspension
• C216 CL gravel-spec suspension for rough-road and rally-stage use
• Long-travel coilover for heavy luxury coupé chassis on loose surfaces
• Mercedes Benz CL 2006-2014 ride-height adjustable suspension with separate compression and rebound
• C216 rally suspension build for owners taking the chassis off-tarmac

Pick your spring rates, damping spec, and ride height below and configure the kit to suit how you intend to use the car.