Short Take Road Test
A consistency and commonality of character pervade Mercedes-Benz’s AMG products, especially those that pack the in-house tuner’s own 6.2-liter V-8. Unique to the AMG brand, the big eight is essentially the same wherever it’s found, whether in the exotic SLS or this car, the C63. But it’s not just the engine that connects the C63 sedan and the be-winged SLS AMG. The primary controls have a uniform feel, the cars handle and ride similarly, and even their leather seats have the same cured scent. Of course, they differ vastly in looks, interior quality—the C63 shares much of its plasticky trimmings with the base C300—and, perhaps most significantly, price. The C63 is the “entry level” AMG at $60,325, roughly one-third as much as the $190,000 SLS, making it a relative bargain for those seeking the AMG experience without another mortgage.
More Power and Other Goodies
In a comparison test involving the C63 back in December 2007, the C63 finished second behind a BMW M3 and ahead of an Audi RS 4. We called the Benz “overtly aggressive” and criticized its harsh ride. This test car, equipped with the $5950 P31 AMG Development Package, keeps the C63 resolutely on the extreme end of the sports-sedan spectrum. The P31 package focuses on power, going beyond the now-defunct AMG Performance pack by adding the connecting rods, pistons, and crankshaft from the SLS’s version of this engine and retunes the engine-management system. Horsepower thus increases from 451 to 481. (Other versions of the 6.2-liter make 503, 507, 518, and 563 hp, but the 6.2 is due to be phased out over the next few years. Its replacement will be a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8 that will deliver similar power but return better fuel economy.) The C63’s ECU tweaks raise the top speed from a governed 155 mph (the governor in our comparison-test C63 cut in early at an actual 153 mph) to 174, a speed the C63 achieves with such ease that we wondered how fast it would run without even this loosened electronic leash.
If you don’t have your own personal autobahn on which to enjoy the C63’s higher top speed, spending almost six grand for a six-percent increase in power is sort of like taping a stick of dynamite to a nuclear bomb to up its firepower. Acceleration numbers are virtually unchanged in the base car: 60 mph is still achieved in a blistering 3.9 seconds, whereas the P31-equipped C63 is 0.1 second quicker to 100 mph, and 150 mph arrives in 21.7 seconds, or 1.1 seconds sooner.
AMG does, however, throw in a few more goodies for your $5950. Countering the extra muscle are two-piece front brake rotors that replace single-piece units and harder brake pads that are claimed to be more heat resistant. (The new brakes didn’t improve deceleration, with this car requiring 10 more feet—165—to stop from 70 mph than the comparo example, although that could be down to the first C63’s different rubber and a grippier test surface in Germany.) Cosmetic changes include a carbon-fiber trunk spoiler and red brake calipers. Inside, P31-package C63s get an Alcantara-and-leather-wrapped steering wheel that feels as good here as it does in the SLS. Although the feedback from the wheel is a bit lacking, even the tiniest movements result in directional changes. The C63 is never nervous in its actions, though, simply precise. Comfortable and supportive leather seats with massive, adjustable bolsters put the driver on lockdown, and the rigid structure, the firm suspension, and the widened front track versus those of a workaday C-class bestow on the 3992-pound C63 an eagerness to dive into and fling out of corners. It doesn’t feel too far off the enthusiasm of the 200-pound-lighter SLS.
Oh, the Glorious Sound
More than anything, though, it’s the sound of the C63’s V-8 that most closely connects it to the SLS. (To hear it in full throat, click here.) Of the AMG cars equipped with the 6.2-liter V-8, the bookend C63 and SLS have the rowdiest exhaust notes. Driving either is like piloting your own personal thunderstorm. Under duress, the engine emits the deep, loud rumbles of an overhead storm cloud; lift off the throttle, and the tailpipes mimic a more distant tempest. This is a big engine with paint-bucket cylinders that rev as if they were teacup-sized. It’s effortless and stress-free, and it runs into its 7200-rpm redline with astounding ease. Opting for the P31 pack doesn’t change the torque peak or amount—it remains 443 lb-ft at 5000 rpm—but the C63 wouldn’t benefit from additional torque; the 255/35-18 rear Continental ContiSportContact SPs have enough trouble finding traction, even when equipped with our test car’s $2000 limited-slip differential.
Although the transmissions in the C63 and SLS boast seven forward ratios, the C63’s box is a conventional torque-converter automatic versus the SLS’s dual-clutch unit. The sedan’s gearbox works better, as toeing the throttle moves the C63 in the predictable, smooth fashion that only comes from whipping up transmission fluid in a torque converter. The SLS’s dual clutches may perform quicker shifts, but the electronic controls give this transmission a klutzy feel when it comes to pulling away from a stoplight and when changing out of reverse and into drive. The C63’s real automatic doesn’t ever trip or stumble, although we do wish the paddle shifters would accept requests for multiple gearchanges. Two quick pulls give you just one gear swap. You must wait for the change to be effected before you ask for the next.
Wearing nearly $17,000 in optional equipment, including the $5950 P31 AMG package, our C63 wasn’t much of a bargain anymore, with an as-tested price of $77,105. But if you want extras, you won’t hear complaints from us about our loaded car’s navigation system, Harman/Kardon sound system, or bixenon headlights. Even at 77 big ones, the C63 feels like a unique and special car that offers the same seductive abilities as the SLS, minus the groovy doors. We’d probably forgo most of the optional equipment, though, including the P31 package. Skipping the extras doesn’t affect performance or the basic goodness of driving a car this size with a 6.2-liter V-8 stuffed under its hood, and so what if it costs as much as four Honda Civics? It’s more than four times as much fun.
