irablumberg

In the latest Motor Trend Best Driver's Car test, the C63S was slower around Laguna Seca than the M4 and both the manual and auto ATS-V.


On the other hand, it was faster down the straight, in fact just .5 mph slower than the 640 HP monster CTS-V. Also, MT liked the C63S much more than the ATS-V as the C finished 4th and the ATS was 7th. MT also said it liked the C better than the M overall.


Sorry, no link yet as I just got the issue on Zinio.

Jones2012S4

Lets hope the coupe can regain some of that track performance.

irablumberg

Likely the coupe will do better. It's clear the sedan had plenty of power and fell back a bit in the corners. The coupe will have a lower center of gravity and wider tires. Even if it loses no weight it will still corner better.

TEAShea

Fourth is very good in a comparison like this.

AMGFTMFW

Is it against ATS-V or CTS-V? If it is CTS-V, that is supposed to compete with the E63S, not C63S.

But yeah...the Coupe will be far better.

RDOCA

both

AV1

The coupe is lighter than the sedan


Along with those other points above it also has the wider track and better dynamic chassis and suspension set up so it will definitely corner better than the sedan.


It also has a lower drag coefficient and a shorter diff ratio compared to the sedan so acceleration should be noticeably better as well

msd3075

The M4's time is from last year's test. Can't accurately compare that to this year's time (different weather conditions, track conditions, etc).

irablumberg

People compare 'ring times constantly despite every run occurring at a different time under different conditions.


Just as we declared victory over the M in the C&D Lightning Lap despite running at different times, we must accept defeats under the same terms. Same for the victory over the M in the Motor Trend test at Big Willow, I believe those tests were run on different days.

msd3075

To me, it's the opposite. You can't compare either since neither were performed together under the same conditions. No one can justifiably "declare victory" on the Lightning Lap times, Nurburgring times, etc unless the laps were done back to back. Hell, look at qualifying in Formula 1; no one goes out to put in their quickest Q3 lap until the very end because the track becomes quicker during the previous 6 or 7 minutes of running. In the MT/C&D case, we are talking about a year difference.

I know everyone on here knows it, but tracks times are extremely sensitive to even the smallest of condition changes. To compare times from different days, let alone different years, doesn't work.

And on a side note, I've never understood the Nurburgring lap time comparisons either. That track is so long, to do one perfect 100% lap is like doing 6 or 7 perfect 100% laps in a row at a normal track. Good luck doing that reliably and repeatably without any mistakes.

AlexZTuned

Here's the video of the lap around Laguna Seca:

AV1

You raised some very good/factual points there, especially the above


I too have never understood or more correctly speaking never taken Nurburgring times seriously, unless that particular vehicle has the track all to itself and is formally compared to other or competing vehicles on the same day and utilising the same driver/s which is hardly ever the case the results and time comparisons don't really mean much as it is not a proper controlled comparison...


Just speaking for myself, how these cars perform and handle on the street is all that matters as that's where they'll be 99.9% if not 100% of the time for 99.9% of people who have them

JonathonK

Good find! here's my front page take on it...
https://mbworld.org/articles/motortr...new-c63-s-amg/

deeoh

Yes, the 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 S finished in 4th place. However, 1st for a sedan..."a hooligan in a Hugo Boss suit"


2015 Best Driver's Cars:http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...enders_part_1/


2015 Best Driver's Cars: The Missing Cars http://www.motortrend.com/features/p..._missing_cars/

MT's World's Greatest Drag Race 5

TEAShea

Randy seems to have liked the GTS the most. He also really liked the C63. The ATSV, CTSV and Porsche not so much.