Major coupe for Mercedes
THERE are two ways to view this new Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe. Either it’s a pricey way to buy a two-door sporty model from the three-pointed star, with a starting price of £68,719, or it is a more affordable way to buy an Aston Martin Vantage.
No, the Newport Pagnell firm hasn’t been taken over by Mercedes but with their small shareholding in Aston, they now share many common parts.
The result is that the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 in this hot C-Class is the same as that in the new £120,000 Vantage.
A bit of an imaginative stretch perhaps but that is not to suggest for a moment that the AMG C63 is a short straw – far from it. Unlike some of its rivals, Mercedes has opened up the appeal of this C-Class so that it is available in the full range of body styles – from saloon and estate to the convertible and this coupe.
We must admit to being big fans of the C-Class Coupe’s styling but this AMG takes that a step further. As well as the most recent updates, the uprated ‘S’ model (an extra £9,000) gets 19in alloy wheels and a look that is dominated by the over-sized three-pointed star on the new AMG-specific front grille.
We aren’t quite convinced about the carbon-fibre lip spoiler on the edge of the boot lid, but at the same time can imagine it looking bare without it. Given that engine-sharing introduction, it more than has the power to live up to those looks, too.
There is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with an incredible 476bhp.
And just in case you feel that huge figure is not enough to pull the skin off a bowl of Ambrosia’s finest, you can also opt for the ‘S’ version of the car which comes with an eye-watering 510bhp. The latter is enough to get the Mercedes coupé from 0 to 60mph in just 3.9 seconds and on to a 180mph top speed.
With that kind of pace, the C63’s performance at the pumps probably isn’t quite as much of a priority for most potential owners but it returns 27.9mpg and has 230g/km emissions. Neither are likely to see you get a Christmas card from Friends of the Earth but at the same time they are pretty good under the circumstances.
Of course, those on-paper statistics are all well and good but when it comes to a car with that AMG badge on its boot, it is about how it drives as much as how fast it goes. And here is where the C63 really scores.
The C63 puts all of that power