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Inside & Out:
We like the look of the C-Class and there's no denying that in AMG guise it's got some serious visual muscle. It makes BMW's M3 look a little bit half-hearted in the styling department, the C 63 AMG's more aggressive styling giving the C-Class more menace than a group of hoodies loitering around a park bench. Inside it's just as sinister, the entire cabin swathed in black - not even the glossy optional carbon fibre trim lifting the cabin. You could of course opt for another interior colour, but performance saloons really should be trimmed in black leather and Alcantara to add to their Q-car status. The sports seats look very bulky and their hard seatbacks eat into rear legroom, but they provide great support, though would perhaps benefit from being positioned a touch lower.
Engine & Transmission:
AMG's 6.2-litre V8 engine is a high-revving masterpiece. The big V8 was the first engine wholly developed by AMG's engineers and it's used extensively across the AMG line-up. It works best when squeezed under the bumpy, blistered bonnet of the C 63 - its high revving antics suit the compact C-Class. Certainly it feels more potent than it does in any of its other installations - with the notable exception of the utterly madcap pseudo-racer CLK 63 AMG Black Series. In the C 63 AMG is produces a thumping 451bhp and 443lb.ft of torque. That latter figure is produced high up the rev range at 5,000rpm, but the peak output cloaks the fact that a good chunk of that twisting force is available from low revs.
That ensures the C 63 AMG offers remarkably linear performance. Sure, it lacks the bombastic tyre-shredding low-rev urge of its 5.4-litre V8 predecessor, but replaces it with a more cultured, useable delivery. It also sounds sensational. The 6.2-litre V8 brings with it AMG's seven-speed automatic transmission, which can be left to do its own thing or shifted by paddles behind the steering wheel. Throttle blips accompany downshifts and the engine and transmission work very well together - though the paddle shifters feel rather small and insubstantial in their action. Good as this all is we'd love a proper manual, but it'll never happen...
Car reviews | Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG | Performance packed AMG | by The Car Enthusiast
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