A day with the CLK 63 AMG...

[190Evoluzione]

A month or so ago, i got a taste of 2006 C55 AMG ownership for 24 hours, and
loved it. The same client delivered another car to me on Wednesday...
Please don't ask how i get these jobs, but i had to drive 450 miles from
London-Preston-London in this:



Wondering what's under the hood?

Here's a subtle clue:



This car is Darth Vader incarnate. Pure Evil.
475bhp, 465lb-ft of torque...

I 'accidentally' left the gearbox in 'Sport' for the first 80 miles and my girlfriend was in agony.
The suspension stiffens up, and the car will shift down at the lightest blip of the throttle. Nothing like the C55, which was relatively easy to drive - the CLK63 will eat you alive if you even think about kickdown! Just insane, i can't ever imagine becoming competent enough to use all the power in that car.

The 'Comfort' mode is a lot easier, and makes the car a serious long-distance tourer.
It had a 7-speed Semi-Auto trans with Paddle Shift, and at 80 mph in 7th gear, the revs read 1200rpm!

The thing that blew me away the most was when i came to fill it up with fuel.
It came with a full tank, and we used 5/6ths of it on a 225-mile run.
I was expecting it to have a 70 or 80-litre tank, but it was £50 to fill from the 1/6th remainder.
Compared to my 1.8 (three and a half times smaller engine!) that does 320 miles on a 50-litre (£50) tank, that's incredible.

The best thing about this car is the sound. Even at idle, it sounds much rawer than any new car i've heard to date.
Cruising around suburban Preston, it suddenly felt like a really conspicuous car, as the
village is virtually silent and the loud, black CLK made me look like a rather successful career-criminal - whereas in London nobody looks twice.
I went under the railway tunnel near the new Arsenal stadium and there was a guy on a bicycle coming the other way.
I couldn't resist, knocked it into Neutral and redlined it! 7000rpm through those quad AMG pipes, he nearly fell off the damn thing!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, enjoy this pillarless beast:









Stopped for a leak on the M6 motorway, the evening light was amazing...

[MarcusF]

MB USA brought us one last November for a track evaluation. Unfortunately, only the convertible is available in the states. Even with the added weight, the convertible is brutally fast. I can only imagine how the coupe must handle. Our press car pulled like an 80's sportbike throughout the rev range, and has the brakes to match the engine.

[EvoGuy]

You are one lucky guy! Good for you! I was looking at the CLK 63 here in the states and they only have the convertible, I hope they bring the coupe soon!

[Kalle]

Nice story but I would like to know more about the car and its story? A CLK with 6.3 l engine tells me that is modified somewhere as this is not a standard AMG car!

[190Evoluzione]

Originally Posted by Kalle

Nice story but I would like to know more about the car and its story? A CLK with 6.3 l engine tells me that is modified somewhere as this is not a standard AMG car!

No, it is a brand new, standard car. It has so far covered about 3500 miles.
It is in fact the UK Press example of the new CLK 63 AMG coupe (so i'd imagine
it's on it's 4th or 5th set of rear tyres!).

There are quite a few Mercedes-Benz models that never become commercially available
in the USA. It works the other way too - there are some cars made specifically for the
American market.

Our press car pulled like an 80's sportbike throughout the rev range, and has
the brakes to match the engine.

...and that about sums up this one too! I never ever got near the floor with the accelerator
pedal, and it still made me feel like i had a lot to learn as a driver.

[MrBenz55]

Your very lucky, that would have been one hell of a day !

[boosteeddc]

absolutely beautiful, i cant imagine myself driving a mb on the right side.. hope i get the chance to one day

[alroumi]

I like how you revved it at 7,000rpm and the person nearly fell, The License plates are top; Those costed alot juding from the prices I see in London.

I love AMG car's in General and thats Why I have a Mean Designo Mocha Black SLK55 AMG; It just sounds intoxicating and now I have the Kleemann Catalytic converters on the way plus a SuperSprint X pipe to make it scream at Idle.

I just would like to thank you for this impressive thread, Liked the way you write and review the CLK63 AMG.

[190Evoluzione]

Thanks, glad you liked it!
Maybe you should check out:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w203...taste-c55.html

[alroumi]

Originally Posted by 190Evoluzione

Thanks, glad you liked it!
Maybe you should check out:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w203...taste-c55.html

Sure, thank you very much 190Evoluzione.