g ener a l m o t o r i n g
“… Nearly fractured the concrete stanchions with the decibel power thundering out of the quad exhaust tips.”
Big Bang Theory Love this car — even more with the performance pack upgrade which takes the nasty, bellowing C63AMG up to 358kW, or near as damn to the magic 500 horsepower mark. It’s better again following Benz’s recent C-Class upgrade that brought a new look especially to the front end, additional luxury features and a much better interior in looks and functionality. The C63 is available in three variants, four-door sedan, two-door coupé and wagon. The striking red four-door sedan we drove last week goes for $152,800 plus $14 grand for the performance pack that brings the extra go, big Brembo brakes, internal engine bits from the imposing Benz SLS — like forged pistons, special conrods and crankshaft and other goodies that will make the handmade engine live longer and hit harder. This year sees another major improvement to C63 — the adoption of a seven-speed MCT auto, lifted from Benz SL, and other go-fasties. The SLS Gullwing gets a full double clutch ‘manumatic’ but this MCT box is just as good, perhaps smoother, and it even blips the throttle on the down change — giddy up. Our drive car was fully cocked with carbon fibre add-ons, interior fascia and other cool stuff. It was the duck’s guts in terms of C63 AMGs and what a drive. As happened with some of the other Benzs we have been in recently, we hit the tunnels for a bit of blatt action, frightening young children and animals in the process. Heck, we even had a bit of a crack in the
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magazine issue #064 — November 2011
car park at Charlestown and nearly fractured the concrete stanchions with the decibel power thundering out of the quad exhaust tips — childish but addictive. The interior now features the Benz Designo treatment elevating it to a higher level of luxury funkiness. Check out the flat bottom (and top) wheel –something that trumps just about everybody. The dash features a metal look fascia with more warning lights as well as a large TFT colour screen that also houses the Satnav system, trip computer and other display readouts. There’s a 40-gig hard drive in there and a 10-gig music register to rip your tunes to. Bluetooth extends to phone operation and audio streaming and you can even do some internet browsing if you care to stop for a minute or two. We appreciated the fully adjustable front seats that even have electrically adjustable side bolsters to ensure you stay planted when carving up the corners. Added to this is the fact that all the controls are easy to find and use — no mucking around or rifling through endless files to find what you want. Under the bonnet is the familiar, 6.2-litre, naturally aspirated petrol V8 engine we have grown to respect and love. Sadly in the process of being phased out for a 5.5litre twin turbo unit in other AMG models, the 6.2 is a joy to feel and hear. It’s a cracker of an engine like something out of a 70s muscle car — but more refined and economical. Good for 600Nm of torque, the big V8
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can consume as little as 12.1-litres of fuel/100km if you have an egg under your foot. Push the loud pedal and that quickly escalates to 20 or more of your best brew. The performance pack brings 19-inch wheels, which in the test car’s case were fairly ordinary multi-spoke alloys that looked like they had been resurrected from the 80s. But the black paint toned them down to a point where it didn’t really matter. It will put away a 0-100kph sprint in 4.4 seconds but feels faster and is absolutely brutal in the mid-range right up to 7200rpm red line. We love the way the engine builder has signed his name in the cam cover. Some people even go so far as to request an engine for their AMG from a particular engine builder — now that’s attention to detail. There are four modes ranging from comfort to manual and race start, and three mode stability control offers — on, sport and off. Benz has tweaked the C63’s steering for improved response, a more direct feel and better self-centring. We couldn’t really tell because we were having so much fun juggling the potent sedan on the throttle through corners — blaaatt, blaaatt, blaaatt! And for all the self-appointed defenders of public safety out there, the C63 is a safer car this time around, easily acquiring a five-star crash rating and featuring numerous clever systems, such as Pre-safe, that prepares the car for an imminent collision by tightening the seat belts, adjusting the seats and head rests, cutting the engine and other tricky stuff.
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Peter Douglas Did I mention high beam assist that automatically dips the main beam for approaching traffic, or the attention assist system that nabs you if you are on the blink, or the lane-keeping system that jolts you through the steering wheel if you stray to either side of your chosen lane. There’s even blind spot warning for duffers who don’t look over their shoulder when lane changing or turning. Radar cruise control will maintain a preset distance/speed, taking into account traffic in front. Driving the C63AMG is almost a sensory overload but you learn to live with it — by the bucket load. That sound, the throttle response, the lunge from corner to corner, the sharp steering feel. It’s a brutal beast and yet, at the same time, can be as meek as a kitten meandering through suburban streets. But stoke it up and you really appreciate the bang on the up-change and the burble on a trailing throttle — totally in keeping with a car like this. It makes mugs look good and about the only complaint is the wheel-mounted change paddles — they should be on the column so you can find them easily when turning. Don’t even think of this car if you are intimidated by lurid oversteer because that’s what it does when you want it to. All this from a classy four-door sedan that you can take your mates out to dinner in, or the family away on holidays — impressive. Forget the Porsche 911 Carrera S, given the jack nash we’d now have a C63 AMG sedan (or coupé) — with performance pack.
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