subject: Mercedes-Benz C-Class C63 model [print this page] From the viewpoint of a logical shopper, this particular too, fails to add up, as the standard-issue C63 is definitely a hooligan's hooligan, a auto from which no sane individual would walk away wishing for bigger stones. But as with Daltrey's Who, the C63 is usually a fantastically overachieving beast of rather pedestrian roots, and when it comes down to it, adding the Dev Pack guarantees to become like dropping off Pete Townshend inside brand-new lobby of a mid-'60s Holiday Inn. With a set of Marshall stacks. Drunk and fresh off a painful breakup. In other words, it could possibly not make a whole lot of sense or be a especially wise financial choice, but it really is also a brave call with the glorious possible for unbridled mayhem.
Roger Daltrey has gone on record as saying that inside Who's early days, they were paid 75 to 150 a show, yet they would bust-up close to 250-300 worth of gear every time they took for the stage. That's bad math. In the same way, Mercedes-Benz asks individuals willing to pay $57,350 for its least costly AMG model the C63 AMG to pony up a additional $5,950 for the new-for-2010 P31 AMG Growth Package that adds 30 horsepower, uprated brakes as well as a passel of miscellaneous hi-po gear.
So what all goes into the Dev Pack? Very well, in order to bring the C63's 6.2-liter corral up to a stable-busting 481 horsepower at six,800 rpm, AMG has fitted lightweight engine internals including new pistons, con-rods along with a diverse crankshaft. When lorded more than by an updated ECU, the combination liberates an additional 30 ponies in the V8, though 443 pound-feet of torque resolutely sits at 5,000 rpm. What's more, Benz's boffins have let out the car's top speed to 174 mph, just 'cause they are swell guys. Thoughtfully, AMG has also fitted unique two-piece rotors fitted with red calipers and firmer pads to bring the C63's even speedier party to a halt. Oddly, the spidery-spoked alloys from the UK's incredibly similar Performance Package deal Plus model haven't made it across The Pond, however the fluted 18-inch anthracite five-stars of the common C63 have constantly been favorites, so we're not bothered.
Further features that will distinguish Advancement Package deal vehicles from lesser C63s consist of a carbon fiber lip spoiler, titanium-colored intake runners plus a suitably bitchin' leather and Alcantara flat-bottomed steering wheel. A limited-slip differential lock is also obtainable for a steep $2,000, but you could possibly as very well go whole-hog, correct?
Let's cut to the chase. We've heard a lot of a reader comment how they never use paddle-shifters in an automatic transmission vehicle so equipped. In the event you count on your own in that number, you may well as effectively stop reading right here and move on, since you are merely going to miss the point in the C63. The two cold metal flaps on either side of the steering wheel are the quickest way towards the Merc's soul. Oh, the seven-cog Speedshift gearbox sluices involving gears imperceptibly and efficiently (if a bit slowly) when left to its personal devices, but if you're interested in baring the C63's considerable jagged teeth, you are heading to need to toggle the little Comfort/Sport/Manual button by the gearlever more than to 'M.' While you are at it, you might as nicely give yourself a longer leash with all the three-stage stability control process by thumbing an additional button among the vents. This can be a routine owners will undoubtedly turn out to be intimately common, as it transforms the C63 from a incredibly fast sport sedan into a full-on 7,200-rpm Townshend/Keith Moon face-melter.
It is really really tough to overstate this next point: the cooking C63 previously sounds brutally sensational, but if something, the Dev Pack's lighter internals allow the 6.2-liter V8 to jump and bark with even greater finesse. Amongst the automated throttle blips on downshifts and the multitude of fierce pops and burbles on overrun, the C63 sounds like Orville Redenbacher is being processed by way of The Devil's Very own popcorn machine.
Our panhandler friend might have mistakenly suspected the C63 had a revised exhaust, but his appreciation has been spot-on. In this vehicle, you will uncover on your own in third gear on the freeway previously breaking the posted limit just to hear the engine in its upper reaches. You may drive while using windows open when it is 95 degrees in the city just to hear the spent gasses caroming off of nearby buildings. You are going to risk confettiing your license every day, or at the really least, your gas card (EPA estimates: 12 miles per gallon city, 19 highway)!!!
Needless to say, a large motor is all properly and excellent, but without the suspension, steering and brakes to match, the C63 would be a one-trick pony. But thanks for the firm yet reasonable front strut/rear five-link suspension and Continental ContiSportContact tires that stick like toffee to new bridgework, obtaining the power down isn't a difficulty it's the softheaded lug behind the wheel which is bound to become the weak hyperlink in this program.
Thankfully, the C63 is remarkably forgiving (especially with the ESP set to its mid-level intervention threshold) and there's genuine feel through the speed-sensitive rack to maintain even probably the most ham-fisted of drivers informed. It really is not as telepathic as a Lotus, but the steering is highly accurate and incredibly communicative. We had a non-Dev Pack C63 out at Lime Rock last year as part of AMG's Driving Academy, and it was hands-down one of the most entertaining on-track automobile we drove that day (and that included more powerful models like the E63, SL63 and SLK55).!.! Some may possibly argue that a BMW M3 is really a a lot more exacting tool especially for trackday work and they're probably correct. But the two Teutons are closer than you may well assume, and we reckon the C63's vastly superior 443 pound-feet of torque and its accompanying hellfire soundtrack will present far more entertainment for most drivers on a daily basis even together with the automated. In reality, the closer foil for the C63 in character is the admittedly wonderful Cadillac CTS-V.
Negatives? Hmmm.!. if pressed we'd say the firm ride can get a little busy on pockmarked streets, but that is to be expected in a sports sedan of this caliber. Additional troubling is that its regular C-Class dashboard is drab and rather downmarket in appearance, and as with seemingly each other German automaker really few creature comforts are regular equipment. (Our tester's MSRP ballooned all the approach to $77,105 thanks to leather, premium and multimedia packages, along with $875 for delivery and $2,100 in gas-guzzler charges)..! Anything else? Not everyone will locate the vice-grip chairs to their liking, but even with our added paunch, we adored their copious support. That said, a universal source of frustration was provided by the seat bolster air bladder controls. They aren't on the door by the rest of your articulation switchgear along with the awkward reacharound means they're only found by individuals familiar with receiving the cold embrace of a policeman's handcuffs. Then again, in light of the C63's propensity to foment illegal speeds, the controls' placement must surely be a cleverly calculated move by Benz engineers to familiarize drivers with 'assuming the position.' These guys consider of everything.
Adding the AMG Development Package to the definitely stupendous C63 is definitely gluttonous, but in our estimation, it is really the best sort of vulgarity. Did Townshend seriously require to crack up all individuals guitars and hotel rooms to make such an incredible racket? Did Moon really have to rely so heavily on cymbal crashes for drama or paint his Rolls-Royce lilac with a brush? Did Daltrey actually have to swing his microphones on stage or punch up his mates inside the dressing room after the show? Of course not. However the rock world remains a richer, additional vibrant and memorable place because they did exactly that. So it's with ordering the AMG Dev Pack. Ticking the P31 box on your C63's order sheet could possibly make for some lousy arithmetic, but it also promises to add a welcome bit of danger and bombast to an definitely legendary performer.
