Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupé
IT’S fitting that the driver leading us around the racetrack Circuito Monteblanco in Spain, is Susie Stoddart, a Scottish racing driver competing in the German DTM touring car championship. This is because driving the new Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupé on track is as close as I’ll ever get to driving a touring car.
Not than I can keep up with her of course.
In Spain, we drive the C63 AMG Coupé on the roads and on the race track. In both places its performance is excellent. Driving it is a welcome reminder that shoehorning the biggest engine you can into a regular road-going car can be a fantastic success.
Powered by an AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine capable of 457hp, the car accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 4.4sec and has a (limited) top speed of 155mph. With an optional AMG Performance Pack this increases to 174mph along with a power hike to 487hp, which makes acceleration a fraction quicker too.
Available as an automatic only, its Speedshift MCT seven-speed automatic gearbox is the same clever tech that’s in the SLS AMG supercar. Though it has four modes – Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Manual (for use with the paddle shifters – right to shift up and left to change down) – the Sport+ mode does a far better job of shifting gear than I can.
On the track we switch into Sport+ mode and shift the ESP setting into Sport. The S+ setting means it hangs on to higher revs in each gear and has sharper gear changes – particularly when downshifting – while the sport setting for the ESP allows you a small amount of sliding before the system kicks in to save you. This allows us to move the car around a bit – without the stability system kicking in too quickly to spoil the fun – which the C63 AMG Coupé does quite happily when you accelerate hard coming out of the corners.
The steering has loads of direct feel and the exhaust makes a brutal rumbling sound that’s quite magnificent.
The car is also hugely enjoyable on normal roads too. Still massively entertaining it is easily comfortable and refined enough to be an everyday driver. Inside, this sporty C-Class has Recaro seats and is trimmed in glossy piano black and carbon fibre, with perforated leather and metal trim. The steering wheel is flattened at the top and bottom, race-style, and is in trimmed in leather and Alcantara. So somehow the C63 AMG Coupé manages to be comfortable, classy and sporty all at once. Not an easy thing to get right.
And, it looks the part too. With more aggressive styling, thanks to the large air intakes at the front – which help cool the car’s engine and brakes – LED daytime driving lights and a more swollen, powerful bonnet. At the back the car has a black diffuser with four chrome tailpipes, not to mention those flared arches and wonderful alloys.
The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupé is as good a car as I have ever driven. Enough said. Buy, beg, borrow or steal one but drive it like you stole it
THE FACTS:
MERCEDES-BENZ c63 AMG COUPE
PRICE: £56,665
0-62MPH: 4.4secs
TOP SPEED: 155mph
CO2 G/KM: 280g/km
MPG COMBINED: 23.5 mpg
THE VERDICT:
DESIGN
PERFORMANCE
PRACTICALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY