The Mercedes C63 AMG is very special to me. The car is probably one of the most understated and only a true petrol head knows what lurks beyond the subtle exterior.
The car looks like any Mercedes C-class of recent, except for a few tiny things. The 6.3 AMG badges on the flared wheel arches and the quad exhaust give off hints of the power that the mighty engine holds. Not only that, but this specific car was released in conjunction with AMG’s 40th anniversary.
The engines are hand built at the AMG factory, and they are so proud of this that each engineer has his personal plaque stuck on each engine built.
The 6.3-litre V8 AMG engine coupled with a quad exhaust turns even the most serious of grown men into little children, giggling at the rumble of this mean machine. The car pumps out 451 bhp, which is plentiful.
When the car is brought to life, the exhaust sounds like you have angered the devil deep in the bowels of hell. When I took off with the car I wasn’t sure what sort of power I had beneath my right foot.
After I floored the accelerator, the car’s tail wagged a bit and I was propelled to excessive speed in a matter of seconds. It was alarmingly quick and serious attention is needed to avoid colliding into the car ahead.
To counter such speeds, the car needs an adequate braking system and I was extremely satisfied with the braking capabilities of the massive vented brakes. This car will shave miles off the speedo very swiftly and this gave me a ‘false’ sense of security.
In traffic, the car is as docile as a standard C-class; it has four doors and has a big enough boot for the shopping. The model I tested had the optional sat-nav, which pops out of the dashboard when you start up.
This car is typical Mercedes, with a well-built interior, covered in carbon fibre and leather. The seat is heavily bolstered and wraps around the driver tightly.
The car is fitted with a special ESP button, which is basically traction control. It has three settings, ON, ESP-Sport or OFF.
ESP-sport allows you to be naughty and light up the rear wheels but if you get it wrong the car will correct the driving line itself and keep you on the road.
There are a number of things that might keep you from buying this car: fuel consumption and price of tyres because you will go through a lot of them.
SCDW 