Mercedes-AMG C63 S
Coupe in on test at the moment and reaction to our Edition 1's matt grey paint, yellow stripe and aggressive aero kit has been overwhelmingly positive. Basically social media seems to love a rude Merc, especially one with a noisy V8. As do we.
Thus informed (and enthused), the timing of these spy shots of an even more extreme C63 Coupe test mule couldn't be better. The most obvious addition to this car is, of course, that prominent rear wing on the bootlid. Much like the optional aero kit on the previous
C63 Black Series
, this immediately marks this C63 out as something rather serious and, seemingly, a direct response to the
BMW M4 GTS
we tested not that long ago.
The leap from M4 to GTS is a big one, water injection helping boost power from 431hp to 500hp while the aero, revised suspension and sticky Cup tyres help contribute to a supercar troubling 7min 28sec Nurburgring lap time. That's GT3 911 pace and a serious step up in capability. But the C63 S Coupe starts out with 510hp from its twin-turbo V8, meaning AMG has a power advantage straight out of the blocks. PH's spy photo agency refers to this car as a C63 R, perhaps following in the footsteps of the uprated AMG GT of the same name and indicating a new upper level to the performance division's products. The GT R has 585hp; if this is an 'R' version of the C63 we'd have to expect it to have a similar output. Does this still leave room for even more extreme and limited production Black Series as we had in the past? We'll have to wait and see.
Certainly the more extreme arch extensions seen on the previous C63 Black Series seem to have been left off this test car. But then the C63 Coupe already has over 60mm of extra bodywork front and rear compared with the standard C-Class Coupe, arguably giving AMG enough track to play with. The bespoke 12-link rear axle developed for the C63 Coupe and due to be carried over to the new E63 also gives AMG scope to tune the handling to a degree it can't with the saloon and estate versions, the lips to the front bumper and integrated skirt and lower bodywork perhaps indicating more rubber. The black bootlid may indicate carbon panels as part of the package and there's an obvious splitter to complement the wing on the back but, thus far, we don't seem to have the bonnet vents or other more aggressive styling features seen on the old Black Series. We'll have to see if AMG has managed to trim anything from the C63 Coupe's burly 1,800kg kerbweight too, its only real handicap in a game of spec sheet Top Trumps with its Bavarian rivals.
[Photos: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien]