​ by Marcus Slater

Choosing between these two is like the Sophie’s choice of modern Mercedes. On one hand you have the CLK63 AMG Black. The guys at AMG finally decided that America was ready for a full-fat sportscar and brought it over in 2008. 500hp and 465 lb-ft of torque later, it won the hearts and minds of racey Mercedes fans everywhere.

Fast-forward to 2013 and the Black series has a new installment: the C63 AMG Black. It’s a totally new car, but it follows the same ethos of it’s predecessor. It makes about as much power, but does so with less weight, bigger tires, more cooling, and more look-at-me carbon fiber bits that you can shake a stick at. Objectively, it’s a better car… Objectively.

Truth is, “better” isn’t objective. There’s stats and stuff, but there’s also the raw cool factor . Car and Driver compares how they drive at a track in southern California. Does five years really make that much of a difference? Find out.

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