PC Valkyrie

Here are some test results from Road & Track through the years for the various C-AMG cars. I recently dug up some old magazines and I thought it would be interesting to post these for comparison and to see the improvement in performance through the years.

Road & Track, Feb. 1995.
C36 AMG test
0-60 mph: 6.0 sec
1/4 mile: 14.5 sec @ 98.5 mph
200ft skidpad: 0.86 g
700ft slalom: 62.2 mph

Road & Track, June 1998.
C43 AMG test
0-60 mph: 5.9 sec
1/4 mile: 14.4 sec @ 98.5 mph
200ft skidpad: 0.84 g
700ft slalom: 62.7 mph

Road & Track, Sept. 2001.
C32 AMG test
0-60 mph: 5.1 sec
1/4 mile: 13.6 sec @ 105.4 mph
200ft skidpad: 0.86 g
700ft slalom: 64.0 mph

Road & Track, Nov. 2004.
C55 AMG test
0-60 mph: 5.0 sec
1/4 mile: 13.5 sec @ 106.6 mph
200ft skidpad: 0.86 g
700ft slalom: 67.6 mph

And here are some lap times on Nurburgring from Sport Auto magazine to give a sense of the overall performance of a car. Many consider these laptimes to be a more definitive measure of "performance", as Sport Auto uses the same driver all the time. More and more manufacturers now use the lap times around the "ring" to be a benchmark when assessing the handling dynamics of cars. Here, you can see major improvements with each generation. I don't have a time for the C36 from Sport Auto magazine.

Feb. 1998
C43 AMG test
laptime: 8.51 minutes

Sept. 2001
C32 AMG test
laptime: 8.37 minutes

July 2004
C55 AMG test
laptime: 8.22 minutes

Now that the C55's life will come to an end, I look forward to the next C-AMG car and what performance numbers it will produce. I predict the next C-AMG car will do 0-60 in 4.X seconds, and the 1/4mile in 12.X seconds.

RW C55

Nice post thank you alot.

power-fade

Excellent info

Lagunatic

Great post.

What are the C-AMG cars main competition? How does these performance numbers compare with the C's closest competitor?

I'm still new to this forum and MBs in general. IMO, the closest sedan competitors (to the C55AMG for example) would be:

Audi S4
Audi RS4
BMW 330i
BMW M3 (although I consider the M3 in a different class as it's a coupe, etc)
Lexus IS
Infiniti G
???

RW C55

the C55 AMG competitions are

Caddy CTS-V
Audi S4 & RS4
BMW M3

those are some cars i can think of right now.. anymore anybody?

ItalianStallion

Performance-wise, the Subaru STi and Mitsubishi Evolution are great competitors, but of course they're on a totally different level than a Mercedes C AMG. The newer BMW 335i sedan (as the rumors say) should be in good competition with the older C32 and C55. The new M3 should destroy them. Then again, if a C63 comes out, it will destroy everything.

advans

The EVO and the STI competes in the japanese sports tuned cars such as the 350Z, RX-8 etc,

as the 3 series M coupe supposedly is called "4 series"

C32 would face M3, S4
C55 would face M3, RS4

as for the 3.2L c320s and the 3.5L c350s, possibly the new 335i, 3.2T A4, possibly the IS350, G35, and the Type-S Acuras

the 335i seems attractive as a twin turbo inline 6, but I doubt it'd be much difference as the C350s, such as the C320 (215hp) and 330 (225hp)

FrankW

good write up. However I've seen quicker times for both C55 and C32.

quickest time I've seen magazine test for C32 was in a comparison with the B6 S4 which the C32 clocked 4.77sec 0-60mph and 13.2 1/4 miles and trap around the same speed. The C55 I've seen around the same 0-60 and quater as well.

PC Valkyrie

Yeah, Road & Track usually don't have the fastest acceleration times for cars. I chose Road & Track because I actually have the older issues dating back to the time of the C36, so I thought it would be best if I concentrated on the same magazine to make the performance numbers relatively more comparable, as different magazines have different testing procedures.

Here are the numbers for the C32 and C55 from Car and Driver. Unfortunately, I didn't subscribe to Car and Driver in the 1990's, so I don't have the numbers for the C36 and C43.

May 2003
C32 AMG test
0-60 mph: 5.2 seconds
1/4 mile: 13.6 seconds @ 106 mph
skidpad: 0.81 g

Nov 2004
C55 AMG test
0-60 mph: 4.7 seconds
1/4 mile: 13.3 seconds @ 108 mph
skidpad: 0.85 g

And as for competition for C-AMG cars, the most obvious ones are the BMW M3 and Audi S4. They are in the same price range and they are all in the same "class" of cars. The RS4 is probably a step above, because of its price and performance numbers.

FrankW

I think Road&Track actually has more accurate time given in real world condition. CarandDriver sometimes are sketchy on their test results.

off-topic, anyone read the new issue of CarandDriver? I can't believe the idiots ran a new 599 Fiorano into the wall.

Germancar1

Interesting info. AMG didn't really advance much in straight-line performance from the C36 to the C43, but the did with the C32, but then the C55 didn't really advance too far from the C32. You know what the means? The C63 is going to be a scorcher! I loved the C36 more than any of these until the C55 came around. There was something about the C36 when it was first introduced. Then for the last model year, 1997 they gave it a slight power boost. That was Mercedes made an I6 just as good as any BMW I6. Ahh..times gone by.

M

Fifth Ring

You really need to keep in mind how limited these numbers are. They do NOT tell the whole story at all. I guess if you take your AMG to the drag race track, you might focus on 1/4 mile time; but for real driving, the results may be deceptive.

I took my bone-stock C32 to an Audi Club driving event at Virginia Int'l Raceway (3 mile road course), and I was impressed (as were others) at how the C32 stacked up to the B6 S4 (V8 power) and the WRX STi. My C32 had lame tires and could not make up any time on the curves, but coming out of the turns into the straights, I was easily catching and passing S4s and STis.

In part it's the HP (small advantage), but it's also torque and gearing. And, of course, the C32 is carrying less weight than an S4. There's no way a magazine test can capture these things unless they do "hot laps" head-to-head.

PC Valkyrie

I agree with you. In Europe, performance car mags (like EVO) don't really emphasize straight line acceleration performance (they just list the manufacturer's claim). Rather, they emphasize lap times around a track to gauge the overall performance (acceleration AND handling). Manufacturers are increasingly concerned about lap times around legendary tracks like the Nurburgring as a benchmark to aim for. At the track, the straightline drag cars can get humiliated by better handling cars of lower power. Porsche admits that the lap time around the "ring" is the benchmark they aim for.

If you look at this measure of "performance", the Mercedes C-AMG cars have improved significantly with each generation. BMW M3 totally dominated this aspect of performance until the C55 came out, which finally resulted in a C-AMG car which could keep up with the M3 on a track.

I just hope the next C-AMG car will not have to play catch-up again to the new V8 M3. Currently, the RS4 holds this crown with a 8.09 laptime around the Nurburgring (as tested by Sport Auto).

Germancar1

Of course, you're right. I was just glancing at the 0-60 times like a typical American...lol! Mercedes has already shown they are starting to get serious about handling in AMG cars, witness the SLK55. Much better handling car than any other AMG product, but of course its size helps. I expect really improve handling with the C63.

M