CBS

http://www.beyond.ca/first-look-2013...ion/19323.html

The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series is quite the rare car, with 650 cars produced worldwide for 2012, and a bonus 150 cars produced for 2013. The lucky folks in Canada got the rarest version of all, 5 cars that was originally destined to be the Ducati edition. Wait, Ducati Edition? What does Mercedes and AMG have to do with Ducati? There’s quite a bit of interesting history here for the Black Series that never was.


In late 2010, AMG entered a marketing partnership with Ducati, creating the 2012 SLK55 AMG Ducati Edition shown here. Ducati, meanwhile, created the Diavel AMG Special Edition, which actually made it to production and is still available today. At the same time, due to extremely high demand, AMG decided to boost production of the C63 AMG Black Series by 150 cars worldwide (total of 800 cars), and to top the SLK55 Ducati Edition, it was planned for 2013 release as the C63 AMG Black Series Ducati Edition.


As shown in this rare photo, the C63 Black Series Ducati Edition was a fully loaded Black Series with every option checked off on the order list. Al the cars were to be painted Cashmere Matte White, with Ducati branding throughout the car. The car was finished off with black wheels that looks similar to the HRE P40SC’s. Before production was to start, Ducati was purchased by Audi and AMG quickly disavows the partnership, cancelling both the SLK55 and C63 Black Series Ducati Edition.


With the Ducati partnership over, AMG produced the extra 150 cars for 2013 as normal C63 Black Series models, with the exact same specs as the 2012 edition. The exception of course, is Canada, where customers were rewarded with what is arguably the most rare of the 2013 Black Series cars in the world. AMG is a very strong brand here, we lead all countries in terms of sales per capita. With a lower population than California, Canadians have purchased as much AMGs as all of the western United States.


Because of our strong market, approximately 5 cars were allocated to the market for 2013, all painted in Cashmere Matte White, the only market where this color is available. It’s hard to capture in these photos, but in person, it’s a stunning color. With the right lighting, the metallic flakes in the paint reflect off a satin sheen, making it look like a futuristic storm trooper. With the exception of the wheels and Ducati branding, this is as close as we’ll get to the now defunct Ducati Edition cars from AMG.

Check out the gallery below for more photos of this rare beast because it’s unlikely you’ll see one of these rolling around, especially if you are not in Canada.

rage2

I shot those photos and wrote the article 2-3 weeks ago. Since then, it looks like Japan is getting them too but at am extra cost. So far I've found 3 out of the 5 in Canada, 2 in Calgary and 1 in Vancouver.

I'd like to know what wheels those are on the Ducati edition. Looks like HREs.

CoolBDPhenom03

As a Ducati owner, that would've been the pinnacle of my MB/Ducati fandom.

firstshadow

So where is the bacon?

callmiro

It looks like only the car in the bottom pic has HREs...the other pics looks like factory the Benz wheels

Dads C63

Do they have the carbon ceramic brake package?

Guilty

I don't think so. Calipers look red.

xxGenericSNxx

C63 BS in the US, at least, isn't offered with the CC brakes.

Are the CC brakes available in other markets for the C BS?

rage2

No they're not. According to some people in the know I spoke to last year, the Ducati edition wasn't getting ceramic brakes either.

ATT

there was one in the Toronto at Midtown Head office when I took my car over to check out the missing of mirror compus and they told me there is not mirror compus on all BS and they shown me that car to confirm. The car is full loaded mat white with black BS rims.

Chocofishez

Pretty hot car!

the CBS will go down as one of the best cars MB ever built.

NellyRod

Those pics really make me think about getting a satin wrap

moosejaw

I think the bacon refers to the fact thats it Canadian like sliced ham???

Fung63

Oh mb. Why couldnt you make sedan versions of the BS? Why oh why?

rage2

Go get a strip of satin wrap applied to the hood or trunk as a test. Make sure you drive it out into the sun, then into the shade to see how it looks. Pictures doesn't show how awesome in looks, you have to see it in person.

Guaranteed you'll wrap the whole car after seeing it. And as a bonus, your paint's fully protected!

Chocofishez

Hey Rage how do these wraps hold up over a couple years of driving for cleanliness / consistency of finish? I am a clean car freak and I hear that wraps don't show well after a few washes, exposure to elements etc.

rage2

Paint protection films hold up fine. It's vinyl that's problematic. Then again, I haven't owned a car for longer than 2 years, so I could be wrong.

Maverick1975

I will let you know in a year or two!

_timothy

i have a black vinyl 3m wrapped roof which has faded in the florida sun. it was redone and faded again. still havent gotten around to removing it. the quality of finish depends entirely on the installer. more expensive doesnt necessarily mean better job, that is for sure.

sickfox

I'm drooling.... How much does a kidney cost in the black market nowadays? Im pretty sure i dont need the other one.

Does the CBS cost more in Canada than in US? "When" I sell my kidney and somehow able to buy the CBS Ducati edition in Canada, how do I register the car in US? Taxes, shipping and what other charges? Just want to find out the other expenses in case I need to sell my left n#+.

moosejaw

Last time i checked sales tax in some parts of Canada is about 18% which you would have to pay bc i would think some dealers would be prohibited by HQ to sell to an American.
Even if you were to find it, i dont think an american dealer would honor a canadian car's warranty.

Chocofishez

Thanks for sharing... I don't think I'm going to get a wrap now. We spend big $$ for MB paint... why spend more to cover it up?

Anyone know about the actual factory matte finishes? Do they hold up?

rage2

It's not a Ducati edition. It's as close as we'll get to one though. The 2013's cost $8k more for the paint. Other than that, it's the same price as the US. We get CF, AMG Perf media as standard, so our base price is higher.

Warranty isn't a problem. Problem is the CBS is sold out long ago, and everyone that buys one has to sign a non export agreement.

Ya, don't get vinyl. The only thing I recommend is clear matte or shiny paint protection film.

Factory matte finish looks great, but if you get a ding, you have to repaint the whole panel. Color matching isn't possible. If I wanted matte, I'd get a metallic paint then wrap with the clear matte film. The price difference between metallic paint and matte paint is a little more than a full wrap job.

Sebs

Do you have any pics with the clear or shiny clear film wrapped on a diamond white?

rage2

Unfortuantely, no. It looks exactly the same as these pics tho. The car here is actually 1/2 matte wrapped to protect the paint.

Best thing to do is to go to the shop where you'd get it done, ask them to apply a small strip on the hood. Most shops will do this for free, and takes 2 minutes. Then drive around in different light/shade to see how it looks to decide if the look is right for you.

It's really hard to capture matte white in photos. Have to see it in person.