First Drive Review
Until now, AMG has always worked on the theory that the bigger the number the more powerful and faster the car. The new C32 is the exception to the rule at the performance division of Mercedes-Benz. First came AMG's C36, followed by the C43, and now we have the C32, the hot-rod version of Mercedes' new C-class. Don't let the lesser number confuse you into thinking AMG has gone soft. The implication that the new C32 is somehow inferior to the C43 can be dismissed right now. It's a sensitive issue, one that's directly responsible for AMG's adding an oversized V-6 Kompressor badge to the flanks. The theory being that a V-6 plus a supercharger elevates the C32 beyond the V-8 powered C43 to bring real street credibility to Mercedes' latest supersedan. The badges are totally out of character with the C32's discreet appearance. Leave the performance to do the talking, which is far more convincing, as the C32 is a compelling orator.
The SLK32 AMG, meanwhile, suffers no such integrity problems, despite wearing identical model tags. This is AMG's rival to Porsche's Boxster S and BMW's M roadster. Seriously. The SLK gets the same supercharged 349-hp engine, which amounts to 99 more horsepower than is found in the Porsche. Both the C32 and the SLK32 should arrive in the U.S. in September. Much about AMG's new C-class muscle car is outstanding, nothing more so than its effortless ability to close in on the horizon. In acceleration, driver appeal, and refinement, the decathlete C32 blows away the C43--and not just by 10ths of a second, but in a quantum leap in performance. On grippy tarmac, AMG claims the C32 can accelerate to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 5.2 seconds, 1.3 seconds quicker than the C43 and 0.5 second faster than the mighty E55 AMG sedan.
Superior aerodynamics and top-end power mean the difference just increases as speeds rise. Times to 125 mph are important marketing tools in Germany, and AMG says its C32 will do it in 18.6 seconds, 1.5 seconds ahead of the C43, despite weighing about 140 pounds heavier at 3450 pounds. You'll also want to know that its time to 62 mph exactly matches BMW's claim for the new M3. This on midgrade fuel, not the more expensive premium gas BMW recommends. Powering its way to the electronically limited top speed of 155 mph, the C32 slips swiftly from fourth to fifth at 149 mph and charges forward without any tangible let up in the way the driver is pushed back into the seat. This is, by all but supercar standards, blistering performance.
Yet the C32 is a truly comfortable four-door sedan (or wagon, although only the sedan will be exported to the U.S.), with an automatic transmission and room for four adults. Toss out the computer chip that restricts its top speed (something AMG does quietly for customers who insist on running with 911s on the autobahns), and the C32 tops out at 175 mph. Change the final drive, as some clients demand, and the engineers whisper that it's closer to 190 mph. Whereas the C43 relied on cubic inches for its grunt, the C32 relies on the heavy breathing induced by a belt-driven supercharger. AMG cites the advantages of a more compact engine that allows better weight distribution and, because it's shorter, improved behavior in a crash.
The supercharger (a Japanese IHI helical unit rather than the Roots type employed on Mercedes' four-cylinder Kompressor engines) only operates when the driver demands acceleration, and then at a pressure of up to 14.5 psi. Its seamless operation means you're never aware of its cutting in, only of instant power from just a few hundred rpm above idle. Contrary to its on-paper spec--peak torque of 332 pound-feet at a high 4400 rpm--which suggests the V-6 is a screamer, the supercharger delivers at least 295 pound-feet of torque all the way from 2200 rpm to 6100 rpm. And it has not been achieved simply by mounting the supercharger on Mercedes' 3.2-liter V-6. A new crankshaft, new con rods and pistons, an oil pump with a 70-percent increased capacity, lightweight camshafts, and harder valve springs mean the V-6 now spins to 6200 rpm, an increase of 200 rpm. Ceramic thin-wall catalytic converters reduce back pressure and emissions and help boost output to an impressive 349 horsepower at 6100 rpm, 47 more than the C43 made, and 134 up on the C320. Mercedes builds the C32 in its Bremen plant, but each AMG engine is still a hand-assembled source of pride.
