Mercedes-AMG C63 Cabriolet: Driven

AMG V8 versus 1,900kg convertible C-Class - who wins?

PistonHeads isn't really the place to judge a car solely on its numbers. Here, arguably more than anywhere else, is the place to bleat on about the subjective, emotional appeal, and to hell with the fuel consumption, price or CO2.

Well, mostly. See there are a few numbers around the new AMG C63 cabrio that don't get it off to a great start. As well as being a £72,245 car, it's also said to weigh 1,910kg with a driver. Call it two tonnes when you take your pal to golf. This on top of the five settings for the Drive Select. At least the encouraging numbers from the coupe are carried over unchanged: four litres, two turbos and 510hp in the S model.

Moreover, when you see it, the objective considerations take a (quite spacious) back seat. It looks fantastic. Where the saloon and even the coupe can seem almost meek for a V8 AMG, the cabriolet comes across as noticeably more aggressive. With the roof lowered your attention is diverted down the car, to those wildly flared arches (66mm wider than a regular C-Class) and the AMG grille. If a car could swagger, this would swagger. Parked up next to a C300 and C250d, it looks like it might start a fraternal fight - this is much more like it!

Cut out the cr-
The feel-good factor continues inside, with the same sumptuous interior and great seats as the coupe, although harness cut-outs seem just a tad unnecessary for this. Then you'll start it up roof down and, however staunch your opposition to big old cabrios is, it's very hard not to be amused. V8s tend to do that.

Yes, it isn't quite as rapid as a saloon or the coupe, but this is still a very fast car. And it's such a lovely engine, responsive from next to no revs and willing right up until the limiter. The noise is all the more magnificent with the roof down as well, thundering and snarling its way through the rev range.

But then it all falls apart, right? Large, stylish, charming Mercedes V8 that can't really cut it when you actually want to drive - it's a familiar story. Actually that's not the case, which is nice.

Loutishbehaviour
Of course it rumbles along the Riviera nicely, topless refinement very good with the Aircap and wind defector in place. Yet up in the mountains with one of the more aggressive drive modes selected, it's all the more impressive. Now there are weaknesses - the steering column will wobble over imperfections, for example - but the C63 puts up a far better show than those disconcerting numbers appeared to predict. The body control is top notch, the optional carbon ceramic brakes strong and the structure is admirably rigid. Far from continuing at a relaxed pace, you're soon pushing the C63 and enjoying it as a sports car.

Plus, if you happen to miss a sat-nav turning and come across a few hairpins (that really did happen), the C63 is entirely happy to play the hooligan. Beyond the impressive traction of the Michelin Pilot Super Sports is a chassis of excellent balance and composure. Perhaps not the most relevant test, but again a pleasant surprise in something so heavy.

The point to take is that the cabriolet doesn't feel as blunted by its weight gain - officially 125kg from the coupe - as you might think. Of course it can't quite match the relative precision of the hard-top cars, and a back-to-back comparison would surely prove the point more emphatically, but AMG appears to have done a convincing job of minimising the usual cabrio compromises.

Gameoftwohalves
Sideways addiction indulged and rain imminent, the C63 settles back into a refined cruiser. Should a Slovenian van driver be very cross you're raising the roof on the move (again, this did happen), its ability to raise or retract at up to 31mph and in 20 seconds will prove very handy. Roof up refinement is fantastic given the C-Class uses a cloth roof, although the AMG-C43 also tested - full story to follow soon - did seem to generate a little less wind ruffle around the windscreen. Curious.

It's a hugely likeable car, the C63 Cabriolet, but one that supports that charm with objective ability. Go into it expecting the last word in precision and finely honed dynamics and you will be disappointed, but also unrealistic. For its combination of V8 power, Mercedes luxury and AMG thrills, the C63 presents a pretty compelling case. It may not look to be your cup of tea, but a brief drive should do a lot of convincing - guilty pleasures have never been so appealing.

MERCEDES-AMG C63/S CABRIOLET
Engine: 3,982cc, V8 biturbo
Transmission: 7-speed MCT, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 476@5,500-6,250rpm/510@5,500-6,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@1,750-4,500rpm/516@1,750-4,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.2sec/4.1sec
Top speed: 155mph
Weight: 1,910kg/1,925kg*
MPG: 31.7 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 208g/km
Price: £65,685 (C63 Cabriolet), £72,245 (C63 S Cabriolet), £78,295 (C63 S Edition 1 Cabriolet)

*Weight includes 90 per cent full fuel tank, with 68kg driver and 7kg luggage

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