As the rear-end jacked out to an ego-preening angle and the tyres continued to smoke round the hairpin at Paul Ricard something became clear, the C63 AMG is no ordinary Mercedes. In fact, it marks a cosmic shift in the company philosophy that should have real drives heading to the showroom in droves.
Because in the not so distant old days, yesterday in fact, every Mercedes would have hit a sensible button somewhere deep within its soul and taken over, killing the power and hauling the car back to a straight line with more electrical interference than the perfect storm. Not this time. Here, it was purely down to me to put in the requisite amount of opposite lock and power round the bend in a deeply satisfying twist of car control. A ‘Sports’ mode would allow for little tail out fun before the traditional Mercedes schoolmaster gives a disapproving look and collects it all. But now the electronics on a Mercedes really can be turned off, hallelejuah and praise be although they will come back in if you hit the brakes hard enough.
In all honesty there was more than enough mechanical help, though, as the car we took on track was fitted with the optional £4000 (Rs 3.2 lakh approx) Performance Pack that includes a Limited Slip Dill with 40 per cent locking, as well as firmed up suspension, thicker anti-roll bars and a top-end speed of 278 kph compared to the standard machine's 250 kph limit. With this the car pitched into bends far less and the trademark understeer was more easily countered with a dose of power, so tick the box if you're in the showroom.
But even without this the C63 is, finally, a real driver's car that will put the fear of God into the M3 and RS4. Priced to head straight into battle with the pair of them, this is the first Mercedes since the legendary Cosworth-engined 190 2.5 that could give the opposition sleepless nights on pure dynamics. And, true to the form of this ever- increasing power war that left common sense hanging on for dear life long ago, it decimates them both on power.
Its rivals contented themselves with 420bhp for the M3, leaving the 414bhp RS4 trailing in its wake. Mercedes have raised the bar way above them now, with its 6.2-litre, 457bhp V8 powerhouse. It revs nicely for a Merc, too, topping out at 7,200, with the peak power railing through the road just 400 rpm below that redline. But torque has always been the secret of these big, rumbling engines that refine into the sound of an old-school fighter plane on a hard Charge.
And despite the capacity, the engine weighs in at 199 kg, compared to the M3's 202 kg four-litre. Magnesium intake manifolds, an aluminium crank case and other high tech materials help the cause, and the engine also comes with coated cylinders and can regulate its own fuel pressure from 3.8 to 5 bar, which sounds pretty impressive on its own. As does the 61.2 kgm of torque, which comes in at 5,000 rpm.
With the seven-speed box never short of a sweet spot there's no break in the linear acceleration that might lack the urgency of a manual change M3, but it's no less impressive and can be controlled with the Sports Auto mode, which lets the engine eat the final revs before shifting faster and smoother than we could ever hope to. The standard mode is the one for the Autobahn, with short shifts and low revs maintaining cruising altitude with ease.
In full Manual mode, controlled with a familiar paddle-shift system, it will actually run right into the limiter, refusing to change without the order, and slap the throttle, more than blip it, on the downshift. The full manual might be the only option for some drivers out there, and that's fair enough, but these boxes are getting slicker all the time.
It doesn't boast the full adjustability or outright speed of BMW's SMG. but then that 'box is fatally flawed by its total lack of a comfort setting. Mercedes' three available modes each do the job to near perfection.
The C63 still feels nose heavy and the meaty square-bottom steering wheel takes muscle to throw deep into the bends, but the adjustability on the throttle is stunning and the car can be guided through the bend with the right foot by experienced hands or ambitious novices with the Sport mode on.
The feedback is near infinite on track as the stiffer suspension transmits every rut with a thud, but the composure in the bends had me leaning on the' systems within two laps and turning them down on the following tours.
Opposite lock is purely optional, but once pushed into a slide it's easily held with a deft twist on the wheel and not much else. It's an easy car to drive beyond the limit and AMG expect their owners to take it on track to find out. They even offer tailor-made courses and trackdays, where they'll explain that even pro racing drivers cannot better their time in Sport mode with the gadgets off, and then shred the tyres for the sheer fun of it.
Before the trip to the test track owned by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, though, that is blessed with high-grip run-off areas, we were granted access to the kind of coast road that dreams are made of. Sweeping fast comers and switchback hairpins gave us a chance to explore the limits of a car that carries the hopes of the three-pointed star in its elegant hands.
On the softer, standard suspension, the road car felt like a different animal, rolling into the bends as the snaps show. But on that mountain road the pitch and natural, gentle under steer made it an easy machine to lean on, with telegraphed limits and every tyre sending back a message. It will give you all the fun you can handle on most roads and despite its kerbweight of 1730 kg it's more than agile enough for the wealthy free spirits who'll drive them.
AMG borrowed a front axle from the CLK63 AMG Black Series, which needs no real introduction. So the front is 35 mm wider than the standard repmobile and is apparently firmed up by no less than 100 per cent as a result. A 12mm wider rear, revised multi-link rear suspension, bigger drive shafts and joints are all evident over the standard C Class, too.
Does it have quite the razor's edge handling of the M3? Perhaps not, but it makes up for that with traditional Mercedes safe seats of ride quality and smoothness in 95 Percent of conditions.
It's still the sportiest Mercedes for generations, yet is the tempered monster the mass market should eat up.
It looks the part as well, with the three-box design left long behind. The trademark vicious AMG front grille with vents cutout the side now joins forces with power bulges on the bonnet that might as well be horns. They all work with the wider front track for that rear-view mirror effect. If one of these comes up behind, most of us will move over. A new rear apron to accomadate four polished exhaust exits and a vacuous diffuser joins up with a lip spoiler to sharpen the rear and side skirts simply accentuate the gorgeous side profile of the base model, with that crease marking the waistline.
Again its more conservative than the bulbous, violent M3, but only just, bringing it down on the right side of the class vs crass divide. The residents of Toulon certainly thought so, as they kept a respectful distance when we took the car through the tunnel at rush hour to get the killer shot.
It’s a bit Spartan inside, for a car that costs more than Rs 4.16 crore, approx). The plastics betray its roots as a near base level machine, although the aluminium trim helps a little, the leather on the sports seats is up to the traditional Mercedes standards and everything falls to hand. But the C63 is all about function and form has taken a back seat in the hot seat at least.
But a car like this doesn’t need to explain some rough edges, it’s all about the driving experience. And though the fuel consumption went sky high every time I nudged the Sport mode and floored the throttle just to hear the box drop down three cogs and the rumbling thunder from that V8, it was one of those addictive things. It also got me and my guide for the day followed by the police for a fair distance.
It might not quite have the handling to slay the M3 or the RS4, but it’s close enough and as an all-round package the Mercedes ia a much better bet. The brute force of that V8 engine and rear wheel drive can finally be controlled with the right foot rather than some KITT-like computer, that is enough to swing my vote.
This is the best real driver’s car from Stuttgart since the 190 Cosworth, and AMG has once again shown the competition a fading trail of tyre smoke. Who knows where the power war will head next, but right now this is just about as extreme as a daily driver could be. We like it, a lot.