Upcoming AMG

Kevin · Mar 30, 2007

When you've just got to have more HP and Torque than a Bentley...

That's what a 604hp AMG will look like.

AMG · Mar 30, 2007

Make sure you will get one of the 40, 40:th Anniversary versions then...

http://www.worldcarfans.com/news.cf...rcedes-Benz/mercedes-benz-cl-65-amg-in-detail

SeaEric · Mar 30, 2007

Because of slower sales, I wasn't sure that the CL was going to make the progression into the new body style. Looks like it is! It's good to have a conservative German muscle car available for us geezers.

AMG · Mar 30, 2007

Even without the AMG treatment, they are good looking and powerful. Here are two exhibited at last years Monaco Yacht Show.

Kevin · May 30, 2007

And the beasts just keep coming.

“It is pretty hardcore. We’ve got down to 7min 52sec on the Nürburgring… and that was in traffic. I don’t think we’ve ever done a more complete performance car.”

It’s a statement you expect from a Porsche engineer. But when it comes from the man who oversees the engineering, development and testing of Mercedes-Benz’s AMG range, Tobias Moers, you know something is up.

Following on from last year’s limited-run SLK55 AMG Black Series, Mercedes has now taken its track day line-up mainstream with the launch of the CLK63 AMG Black Series – a car Moers says was largely inspired by the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

The new coupe is based around the regular CLK63, but this is no ordinary AMG Merc. While the two share the same driveline, the Black Series is a very different animal. With a huge front spoiler designed to ram cooling air into an enlarged radiator while dialing out lift to a point where it’s almost neutral at 125mph, the Black Series instantly appears more menacing than the standard coupe.

Bulging wheelarches incorporated into the body panels, air vents in the front wings, a deep rear valance and a carbon fiber rear spoiler complete the makeover. That and a set of 19-inch alloys weighing just 24 lbs each – 6.6 lbs lighter than those of the standard CLK63.

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Inside, there’s carbon fiber-reinforced plastic trim on the door inserts and center console, a forged aluminum gear selector, a flat-bottomed wheel and bucket seats. AMG also replaces the rear bench with two trimmed wells.

The power brokers at AMG are clearly a hard lot to please. Power is up from the 478hp of the standard CLK63 AMG to 507hp at 6800rpm, endowing it with a power-to-weight ratio of just over 300hp per ton. Torque remains the same with 464lb ft at a high 5250rpm.

The engine is noticeably more responsive due to the adoption of a larger inlet manifold, reworked exhaust system and remapped electronics. It sounds great, too, a subdued rumble gradually building into a deep roar before erupting into an all-guns-blazing blare.

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Power is channeled through Merc’s seven-speed auto, fettled by AMG for faster changes. Under light loads it swaps up smoothly, but bury the throttle and it bangs through the cogs with amazing precision. It’s no substitute for a proper manual, but you can call up gears at will via wheel-mounted paddles. Corralling it all is a limited-slip differential, which gets its own oil cooler and pump to keep temperatures in check.

Mercedes claims the 0-62mph time has dropped by 0.3sec to just 4.3sec. But remember, Merc is notoriously conservative when it comes to quoting acceleration. Top speed is limited to 186mph. “It is capable of more,” says Moers, “but the tires are not.”

But it’s the handling that really steals the show. As those wheelarches suggest, there have been major revisions underneath, with the front track widened by 75mm and the rear track by 66mm. The Black Series also gets adjustable springs and shock absorbers that allow you to set your own compression and rebound rates.

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On the road, the stiffer springs immediately make their presence felt. However, there is enough travel to ensure you’re not banged about too badly on pock-marked pavement.

The new coupe also proves remarkably agile, the steering gives great feedback, and prodigious grip allows you to carry big speeds into corners and then plant the throttle early on the exit. Meanwhile, the array of driver aids, including a specially calibrated ESP, are nowhere near as intrusive as in the standard CLK63 AMG, so lurid powerslides are part of its repertoire.

The bad news is that at close to $140,000, the CLK Black Series will cost as much as the new BMW M3 and Audi RS4. Combined.

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Wow! Put a bigger wing on that back and you could easily pass it for a DTM car.

Mangusta · Jul 18, 2007

the front of the CLK 63 AMG blackseries looks just the same as the CLK-DTM-AMG, very fast car.

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