TOPLESS TOURING.(News)(Mercedes-Benz redesigns the CLK Cabriolet)

Byline: NATALIE NEFF

Lovers of the sun, rejoice. Come September, you'll have another excuse to slather on the SPF 30, don the shades and soak up the rays. Just five years since Mercedes-Benz rolled out its sleek CLK Cabriolet, the automaker is launching a redesigned version of the drop-top beauty, and it's more enjoyable than ever.

Much of the pleasure comes from refinements made to its convertible top. Unlike hardtop SLK and SL siblings, the CLK relies on a cloth top-but that top is now fully automatic, powering up or down in 20 seconds. Its three-layer design allows less noise into the cabin than in the outgoing model (less heat escapes, too). Mercedes vice president Michael Kramer calls the CLK Cabrio ``the lowest-noise soft-top cabrio in the world.'' Though at highway speeds we found the top does generate some wind noise, mostly around the windows, we can't argue.

We also found top-down driving produces surprisingly little buffeting, almost none with the windows up and the folding ``windbreaker'' in place over the rear seats. We could maintain a conversation at normal levels at upward of 50 mph.

Kramer said a retractable hardtop CLK, with a ``vario-roof'' like Mercedes' other roadsters, will likely replace the soft-top down the road. For now, the challenge of making a power-folding hardtop for the four-seat CLK is ...