Brute Strength and, Well, What Else Is There?

By Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing
Date posted: 03-26-2008

Everything you need to know about the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is made clear the instant you prod its 451-horsepower V8 engine to life. When the 6.2-liter beast lights off, the engine revs spike in a programmed "look at me" blip before the Merc's idle settles into a deep, throaty burble. Cue the goose bumps.

We haven't yet released the brake or slotted the shift lever into gear, and we're already trying to figure out an angle to finance one of these muscle-bound sport sedans, all $54,625 of it.

But we have to wonder if the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG — essentially a hot-rod C-Class sedan — can possibly deliver the goods in direct proportion to this testosterone-infused exhaust note. There's only one way to find out.

Inspiring Performance
The 90-degree DOHC V8 engine in question displaces 6.2 liters or 379 cubic inches. It has an 11.3:1 compression ratio and variable valve timing. It delivers its 451-hp peak at 6,800 rpm out of a possible 7,200. Torque builds from the basement to a 443 pound-feet peak at 5,000 rpm. That ought to do it.

It's bolted to a seven-speed automatic transmission with three shift modes and two shift paddles on the steering wheel. That adds up to about 12, or something. The traction and stability control systems have three settings, one of which is "Off."

Time to brake-torque this lump to the torque convertor's stall speed and drop the hammer.

The C63 lays rubber through the first three gears — two broad strips of it because our AMG has the limited-slip differential that comes with the optional AMG Performance package.

We're instantly overcome by the strong desire to write, star in and direct a film we'll call, Schutzmann und der Bandit. All we need now is a German analog to Sally Field.

But possible movie investors will want to see numbers. If we restrain ourselves and apply a more delicate touch to the throttle with the three-stage traction control in Sport mode, the tires spin less and the C63 AMG passes through 60 mph in 4.4 seconds on its way to a 12.5-second quarter-mile at 113.7 mph. That ought to keep us clear of old Schutzmann.

It Looks the Part
You won't find a fire-breathing chicken on the hood of our 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. Instead it has two thin longitudinal protuberances that actually make room for a broad, twin-chamber intake plenum, not the cylinder heads.

A less restrictive front grille allows extra cooling air to penetrate the radiator. The products of combustion and the grumble of the rollicking V8 shoot out the back through quad exhaust outlets and a unique rear valance. Words can't describe the glory that is the C63 AMG's unashamed exhaust note at full boil — or partial boil, for that matter. Or even simmer.

More visually striking are the pronounced front fender flares and broadened front bumper cover. A 1.4-inch-wider front track, revised steering geometry and meatier 235/40R18 Pirelli P Zero front tires are to blame for this. A trio of cooling slits sits just ahead of the tires. No rear fender bulges have been added, but the aft wheelwells are fully stuffed with 255/35R18 rubber.

Individually, none of the visual changes to the C63 AMG are radically different from the last C350 Sport sedan we tested. But their combined effect gives the C63 AMG a suitable dose of much-needed street presence.

Track Addict
The unique C63 AMG front suspension changes have been made to help improve steering precision and tire grip at the front. But with the stiffer sport suspension setup that comes with the optional Performance package, our C63 feels "pushy-loose" on the slalom. It understeers past the first couple of cones before small bumps that other cars barely acknowledge tend to pitch this rock-hard suspension sideways. A cone-free run at 68.6 mph takes some doing.

The C63 tends toward push on the skid pad, too, achieving 0.89g. When we try for more with a little throttle (and the stability control off), the tail slithers out and it all goes sideways in clouds of tire smoke. It'll look great on the big screen, though.

Lapping around the ultrasmooth surface of Spring Mountain Raceway in Pahrump, Nevada, the suspension comes into its own. A strategic lift of the throttle as we enter a corner gets the nose pointed toward the apex. As long as we don't overcook it, it's possible to put the throttle down early. On fast sweepers, the Merc likes to carry a sustained tail-out drift. The stopwatch doesn't say it's fast, but it sure is a riot.

You also get impressive-looking six-piston fixed calipers and two-piece "compound" front rotors (aluminum hub, floating cast-iron rotors) with the Performance package. They're drilled and slotted and ventilated, and it all results in 114-foot stops from 60 mph.

We've seen shorter stops with less flamboyant hardware, but our Merc does weigh 3,993 pounds. While we're lapping, bystanders radio in reports of brake smell, but we don't feel any fade. We back off anyway.

Hard Times
On the street, the optional AMG performance suspension that comes with the Performance package is just too bloody hard. Any sort of imperfection is transmitted in the form of a kidney punch through very aggressively bolstered front seats. There's no subtlety or compliance here.

It would be easy to say "Don't buy the AMG Performance package." After all, the standard AMG suspension worked great on a C63 we drove on the track recently, and it still has the tires, forged aluminum wheels, widened track and other chassis improvements.

But then you'd miss out on things we like about the Performance package (the suede-covered steering wheel) and things we need (the limited-slip differential.) After all, two stripes of burned rubber are always better than one. If the differential was available as a stand-alone option, the choice would be easy.

Actually, the choice is easy for early adopters, because the $3,900 AMG Performance package on our test car isn't available until summer 2008 anyway.

Call It a Production Expense
A front-row seat in a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG costs a surprisingly reasonable $54,625. The Steel Grey Metallic paint that helps toughen our test car's look costs $710 more.

Typical C-Class options are available on the C63 AMG. Ours had the same $2,950 Multimedia package that includes navigation (to help Bandit find shortcuts,) Harman Kardon premium audio, a six-disc changer, 30-gigabyte hard drive, Bluetooth and an iPod connection (to deliver the Jerry Reed tunes.)

TeleAid GPS-based emergency assistance ($650) is there if it all goes pear-shaped. Seat heaters and leather seats that go by the name of AMG napa leather upholstery cost another $2,950.

As it sits, our test car's total price is $65,785, although $3,900 of that is the previously mentioned AMG Performance package that isn't for sale initially. At press time, no word on the possibility of a gas-guzzler tax was available. The C63 AMG is rated at 12 mpg city/19 mpg highway, so it might escape the tax.

This all is starting to get expensive, but it still adds up to less than a Corvette Z06. We're not saying the C63 AMG is as fast or as nimble as a Corvette Z06; it isn't. But this four-door sedan connected with us on a visceral level like no other recent Mercedes has.

We Have a Hit on Our Hands
Like the Bandit's Firebird Trans Am, the C63 AMG is happiest charging from stoplight to stoplight and running from the law. Sinuous back roads are not its thing. While the 451-hp V8 connects with us on a gut level, so does the too-stiff optional performance suspension. Buy this upgrade only if you plan on track days.

To us, the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is a hoot, which is what the old hot-rod guys would say. Though it lives in a German wrapper, this is classic muscle-car stuff — a big V8 engine with heaps of power and torque to generate speed, not to mention oversteer, brodies and burnouts.

We're serious about the movie. If nothing else, we'll be able to write the car off as a production expense. But Coors isn't German enough. We'll smuggle Jägermeister instead, and Hasselhoff can play the singing truck driver. It'll be a big hit. All we need is a script.

Mercedes-Benz is set to launch a completely new diesel engine generation starting in the autumn of 2008. For its world premiere, the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer will unveil a C-Class model with this new four-cylinder engine. In the C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition, this engine produces, with its 2.2 litres of displacement, 150 kW / 204 hp and 500 Nm of torque. The premiere model can accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h in just 7.0 seconds, on the way to its top speed of 250 km/h. Notwithstanding these exceptional performance figures, the Prime Edition only consumes an average of 5.2 litres of fuel per 100 km (NEDC), with CO2 emissions of 138 g/km. The engine impresses with its eager responsiveness and smoothness of operation, which can make it a sensible alternative to the higher-displacement six-cylinder engines in future.

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a great favourite with the public. Since its official market launch on March 31 2007, over 400,000 buyers have opted for a saloon or an estate from this model series. As a result of this, the C-Class has maintained its position as world-wide market leader in its segment. The new C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition adds a further highlight to this successful model series which has already received numerous distinctions. With the new diesel engine, which celebrates its world premiere in this model, Mercedes-Benz shows that frugal consumption and high output - and with them both environmentally-friendly driving and driving pleasure - can be mutually compatible.

Exemplary figures in terms of power output, consumption and emission characteristics

A displacement of 2143 cc, 150 kW / 204 hp, and 500 Nm of torque - these are the engine's key figures. Figures that place this newly-developed four-cylinder diesel engine in the top position among the diesel engines of its class. At the same time, in the C 250 CDIBlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition, the engine consumes on average just 5.2 litres of fuel per hundred kilometres (NEDC), a value achieved by no other comparable motor car.

Apart from exceptional power output figures, the new powerplant offers significantly improved torque build-up from low engine speeds, compared to its predecessor model. The benefit of this is that in everyday driving situations it enables low-consumption driving at low engine speeds. In addition, the new engine will assume market leadership in terms of untreated exhaust emissions. Already today, it complies with the future EU5 emissions standards and, beyond that, has the potential to comply with the EU6 and BIN5 standards as well.

Exemplary figures in terms of power output, consumption and emission characteristics are achieved by the new engine thanks to the implementation of a whole package of innovative technologies. This includes among other things:

--a maximum ignition pressure of 200 bar,
--fourth-generation common-rail technology with a rail pressure increased by 400 bar to 2000 bar, as well as a new piezo-injector concept with direct nozzle needle control for greater flexibility in injection timing, leading to smoother running of the engine,
--larger, variable oil spray nozzles and variable water pump,
--dual-stage supercharging.

Another design innovation is the camshaft drive positioned at the rear. This way, with a north-south installation design and engine bonnet rising towards the rear, it is possible to comply even better with pedestrian protection regulations.

A promising future for the new four-cylinder diesel engine

For an engine of its displacement, it is exceptionally compact, so that it can be fitted in different installation spaces. Beginning in 2008, this new four-cylinder diesel engine will replace four of the existing diesel engines at Mercedes-Benz. It can be installed either lengthways or crossways in various model series, and several power rating variants will be available. Apart from the C-Class, the engine will also be installed in the E-Class, in the new GLK-Class and in the future E‑Class Coupé. With its impressive output figures, the new engine will replace higher-displacement engines in heavier vehicles, where it will be able to reduce consumption effectively through this "downsizing".

Ingenious fine detail work reduces consumption

In the Mercedes-Benz C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition the new diesel engine is combined with a sporty six-speed manual transmission with overdrive. This, too, contributes to the great efficiency of the model. Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz engineers have drawn up an additional package of measures in order to achieve the most exceptional consumption figures. The package includes among other things:

-- aerodynamic finishing touches, with particularly airflow-enhancing exterior-mirror housings as well as smooth underbody cladding;
-- newly developed tyres that reduce rolling resistance by 10 percent;
-- an efficient energy-management system with adaptive power steering, which with the help of an additional valve, closes the flow of the power-steering pump when it is not required.

Useful information: new gearshift and consumption display on dashboard

Experience from Mercedes-Benz eco-training shows that the driver, too, can save fuel by adopting an energy-conscious style of driving - and also do that without compromising driving pleasure. In the C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition a newly-developed gearshift display on the dashboard assists the driver by informing him of the best moment to shift gear in order to save fuel. In addition to this gearshift recommendation, the instrument cluster shows the precise current fuel consumption.

Sporty genes, state-of-the-art engineering, extensive equipment and appointments

The basis of the new C 250 CDIBlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition is the C-Class Saloon of the AVANTGARDE equipment line, in which the sporting genes of the Mercedes-Benz brand come particularly to the fore, most noticeably in the radiator grille with its distinctive louvres and the large, centrally positioned Mercedes star. Among car connoisseurs this design element has been seen, for a long time, as a typical badge of the sportier Mercedes models. Now, in the AVANTGARDE models of the C-Class for the first time the star graces a saloon, as an unmistakable expression of the vehicle's inherent strengths: agility, power and performance, without at the same time neglecting other time-tested C-Class attributes such as safety and long-distance comfort. Aluminium interior trim (optional: bird’s-eye maple) and other stylish details accentuate the sporty, effortlessly superior appearance of this model.

The C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition is equipped with 16-inch light-alloy wheels and 205/55 R16 tyres as standard - in addition to this, 16-inch light-alloy wheels in sporty 7-spoke design (likewise 205/55 R16 tyres) and 17-inch light-alloy wheels in 5-twin-spoke design with wide-base tyres (225/45 R17 at front, 205/40 R17 at rear) are available as no-cost options.

Naturally, all the pioneering technical systems of the C-Class are on board as well: for instance, the AGILITY CONTROL package with situation-responsive shock absorber control, the Intelligent Light System with five different lighting functions and the PRE-SAFE® anticipatory occupant protection system.

The extensive standard equipment also includes the Audio 20 infotainment system. This features, among other things, a keypad to enter telephone numbers and radio frequencies, as well as a Bluetooth interface that connects the mobile phone wirelessly with the hands-free feature. Floormats with the lettering "Prime Edition" draw attention to the special status of the new model.

Prime Edition limited to 5000 units

The C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition model can be delivered in obsidian black, palladium silver or iridium silver. It is also optionally available in the special paint finish diamond white metallic. The sporty appearance can be emphasised even more forcefully with the optional AMG sports package, which includes distinctively-styled front and rear aprons as well as side skirts.

Production of the C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition is limited to 5000 units. It is a consummate performer in terms of its sportiness, environmental protection and economic efficiency. Its price (including VAT) is 40,638.50 euros.

The switch in nomenclature from the CLK to the E-Class Coupe made a bit of a stir when word began to leak last year. And then, the issue was broken back open when it was revealed that the new E-Class Coupe is actually based on the C-Class platform--much like its CLK predecessor. So what, then, of a true C-Class Coupe? This computer-generated rendering shows what it might look like.

The CLC-Class is the current offering in that segment, but it's a three-door liftback and based around the older C-Class Sportcoupe. Though it has undergone a major revamp, it doesn't really match the new lineup, and will likely need to be replaced by the time of the mid-cycle refresh of the current C-Class. Mercedes' decision to fork the CLC off means that the new C-Class Coupe previewed here could also wear CLC-badging, however.

At this point it's all speculation, as Mercedes hasn't confirmed the existence of any plans for a new C-Class Coupe. If it does come along, however, expect powertrain options to fall in line with the rest of the C-Class, including a range of four and six-cylinder gasoline units and, outside the U.S., diesels.

If Mercedes does build a new C-Class Coupe platform, it won't likely be until 2011.

As for a C-Class Convertible, Mercedes is unlikely to offer such a car because of the lower price range the C-Class Coupe is expected to exhibit.