PART 1,

I have posted some of this on a UK forum so some members may have already seen some of this......


Thursday:

Well, after a small hicup at the last minute we went and collected our car, here is a quick write up .....

We left for Heathrow terminal 5 via a freinds taxi (new M5 no less)

This new terminal is just amazing and it was just perfect to get our weekend off to a flying start (pun intended). Quick check in then drinks and buffett in the business class lounge. On to the plane right at the terminal very quick and efficient, then a 20 minute taxi to the runway....

Collected by a taxi in Stuttgart and whisked off to the hotel, the Marriott in Sindelfingen was right in the middle of an industrial estate with a bit of parkland next door, so we stayed in and had the most fantastic steak in the restaurant. Early night as up early to get the car.

8am Friday:

We check out and as we are already in Sindelfingen we get to the factory by 8.10.
Handed our bags over to the reception and sorted out the paper work, the car would be ready in 20 mins so we had a browse around the shop and a cup of coffee or two in the coffee room overlooking the collection hall.

We watch as the cars come out of the roller door (it's like something out of Star Trek it opens and shuts so quick "wooosh")

Although I have been here before it's still wierd seeing your new car arrive.....



After a few snaps were taken we walk calmly down the stairs to collect....



Just as we are admiring it another one comes out alongside (silver, standard alloys) I,m thinking I definatley made the right choice of alloys there...



So we go through what all the buttons do, how the comand works etc.etc OK OK I just wanna go and play.....

Start her up blip the throttle, that turns heads then glide out the doors, just as we get the bonnet level I press.... just a bit, and the thing comes alive with a shout as we exit the warehouse hehehe!!!

Park up outside for a few more pics......








Only 10 Miles on the clock...



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Part 2:


Then its off to the MB museum in Stuttgart....Interesting as it was and I would definatley recommend a visit, you go up to the top and wind your way down through the history of MB, you get the drift now back to the car.....

After that we go to the AMG factory at Affalterbach, now this is really strange as the place is no bigger than a small village with an industrail estate at one end, within this small industrial estate is the AMG factory, nothing to show you its there as you drive up, its just set in this, and I mean small, industral estate.

We pull into the cobbled court yard and go into reception....

Inside we have arranged to meet our guide (this was specially arranged through AMG customer relations prior to our collection and was nothing to do with either MB UK or our dealer, so if you want some advice on how to do this PM me I'll let you know) It really is amazing what they can do here, most cars are completley stripped down and re-built to customer orders literally....

CLK DTM in the showroom....



Look!!! there's my car outside.....




SL65 AMG Black.... stripped and awaiting new leather upholstery, this was her car (whoever she is....)



And this is his.... CL65 AMG special blue leather with blue carbon fibre inserts and best of all the exhaust had six....yes ....six pipes on the back, unfortunatley it was a one off and we were not allowed to take pictures of it....








This is how you can tell if the car has been raced....



Yep the brakes have heated up so hot the brake callipers have turned a nice golden colour....notice the uprated performance discs, you can tell as it has extra bolts, the different metal parts dissipate the heat generated so the brakes dont fade as quick as the standard ones.

Here's one on a C63 with the performance package...



A nice upgrade.....illuminated AMG door cills:



A stunning CLK63 Black, that carbon fibre diffuser looks hot....



Notice the new wing mirrors on this Calcite White C63 with PP, I'm a bit miffed mine did'nt have these....It did have a alcantara steering wheel and the carbon trim, the carbon trim was really good but the wheel!!! Not so, it looks like it will wear quite quickly.





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Part 3:


After that we had a very leisurley trip up to Sankt Goar on the Rhine, with a couple of strange experiences on the way, pulled into a rest area, at least 3 cars stopped to take pictures whilst we streched our legs.....

If you like the Rhine the place is next to the Loreley rock, loveley place and we had a trip on the river too as our hotel wes right opposite the stop....

Apparently it was also the local curry house....







Then a long run up to Amsterdam, we got the car up to about 158mph on the motorway but traffic kept slowing us down, and the sound.... no wonder this car is so thirsty you just cant help but blip the throttle, especially when you go through a tunnel, you just get the big cheesy grin, it's impossible not to...

Saturday:

Quick tour of Amsterdam, what a difference going over the German border, it's like being back in the UK...lots of signage and slow and traffic.....



Sunday:

Drive down to the beach at the Hook...




Then on to the overnight car ferry from the Hook to Harwich, loved that too, I like boats their great.

Monday:

Early drive home, nice to be back on the left. The car does work better this way....

Some pictures of the car....









Today I collected the car again from my dealer..... and safeley back home:






Cheers for looking

Mark.

Wow, talk about an in depth review of your experience, awesome work Mark, congrats, those wheels are simply stunning.

Awesome! Thanks for the write up. Do you have more pictures of the C-class DTM?

And yes, the 19" alloys look great on the C63. The mirrors are interesting as well, I didn't think they were planning to change them. I think it's a toss up on looks however, as I've grown to like our mirrors and don't really see much of a visual improvement with the new ones.

I planned to do Euro delivery on my car, but because of my build date would have had to gone in March. But whenever I read about someone elses Euro delivery, I feel like I missed out. Oh well, I think I will definatley plan to go there next year and do a factory tour!

Congrats, looks great and sounds like you had fun!

Sweet! Love that white one with the mirrors.

Wish the US versions looked that good! (ie wheels, power mirrors, etc).

Now thats how I want mine to look,awesome!! I see they gave you license plates and a full tank of gas to drive home? I am an American and I work in Germany and you must have driven within a few miles on your way back to the UK, you should have stoped by the "Ring" Congrats on your C63...

Yes, plates were just to get back, and full tank of fuel...

I did see the signs for the Ring, but I would be too tempted to give it some stick so thought better and carried on....maybe another day.

I did give it a blast or two down the Autobahn though....

nrgy, yes I do have a few more of the DTM, not very good though. I will post em up tomorrow...along with some more of the interior.....

Pitty Matt didn't make it, how are you fella?

Oh and the calcite white was for exiges, it did look fab in that showroom, you will NOT be dissapointed.......


M.

Great thread! Your car is hot.

Those mirrors on that white C63 are strange, not sure if I like them or not.

6 exhaust pipes on the CL65? Sounds stupid if you ask me.

eyah, I live about an half hour drive from the "Ring" between Trier and Wittlich.

Did I read somewhere that if you have European Delivery plates they won't let you take a lap? In any case... I think I'm a bit leery of taking a car I'm unfamiliar with on a challenging unfamiliar road.

"Fear disturbs your concentration." Sabine Schmitz

WOW...congratulations and thanks for the pictures of your experience! Enjoy in good health!

GREAT looking car, love those wheels on the C-class. I like the video and watching the MPG go down. Those are imperial gallons right? Looks too high to be US gallons.

Outstanding presentation. Congrats on the new car, it's a beauty for sure. Nice video as well.

Car looks great!!! Good Luck! I also ordered Black but with Black interior and CF trim which should look great.

I'd like to know if you ordered the PP package? if so, can you please comment on the ride suspension... Thanks

all i can say is

Great post, great pictures, great car,

Too bad I don't live in Europe. I would love to take delivery from the factory too.

Very good review, very insightful. Thanks for sharing....

this thread is awesome!

thanks super cover

Great review. Love those 19's on the C63 especially on black. That blue CL looked hot with the two-tone. Too bad you couldn't get more pics of it.

Nice post Mark.. !! Your car looks cracking. I wasn't sure about the Sahara interior but it looks great.

What's the deal with the wing mirrors on that white one ? Is that MY09 or ??

Why did yours come without ?

I am soooo looking forward to my trip now.. I'm hoping Stelvio pass is still open, because I'm going to take a (very long) detour there if I can.

I'm hoping I don't have the purge valve issues that so many on here have reported.

This thread is amazing. My vote for thread of the year. congrats on your new car.

Great post, write up and pics!!

One question though, how is the ride on the 19inch rims? Does the tyre seem a tad too thin in case of the odd pothole? I'm sticking to 18s on my order because of this though I love the way the 19s fill up the arches more!

The Blue C63? with the lighting AMG door sills looks like it has also had some further enhancement to the interior as the center console where the gear lever is located and the lower sections of the door were color coded in Sahara Beige as well. Do you have any more pics of that one?

That is awesome. How come the speedometer is in miles instead of kilometers?