gthal

I had the amazing chance to spend the day in sunny West Palm Beach with MB and their AMG cars. It was a full day on the track and I drove every AMG car made. All were incredible.


My favorite was the C63 coupe and sedan. This isn't biased because I bought one it is because I liked their size and perceived weight the best. The SLS was clearly the fastest and most capable but it was BIG from the inside... or at least gave the impression as such.


Some initial thoughts....


The C63 is way faster and has way more torque than my M3. The tires are a little anemic but not as bad as I feared. The car feels fairly light on the track and very easy to place. The MCT transmission is very good but not as responsive as the DCT. The car is VERY well balanced and stays very flat and planted in the corners. On the track this car is 98% or more of the M3 in capability based on my driving skill. It is, however, a freaking beast relative to power. Also, the exhaust is pure sex... makes the M3 sound like a kitten to the C63 lion roar. This car feels as balanced and planted in the corners as the M3 and only feels slightly heavier. I bet with better tires and wheels, this car is every bit as fast as my M3 on the track or maybe even faster... maybe.


Downside? Horrible headroom with a helmet on!! Sunroofs suck for track purposes.


I can summarize by saying I LOVE the car, am very happy I am moving to it from the M3 and it will be much more fun day to day. I drove in the BS and it is an absolute monster. I need to own that car someday. More pics to come when I get home.


Although the CLS and E classes were great and fast, I could absolutely feel their weight and size and also didn't like the turbo and the throttle response. I found the C63 to be the easier car to modulate and control. Don't get me wrong, they were amazing cars too but I felt that the C was more at home on the track.

dkhm3

wow, nice write up. good to know that it stacks up well on the track against the m3. did you track the m3 a lot?

I went from the 335i to the c63 and I have to admit I was very scared of the power when I made the move. Wish I had an opportunity to track test the car before buying it like you!

gthal

I did track my M3 often so I had a good comparison. I do think the M3 is slightly better at the track but it is much closer than I would have ever thought. Also, the power and sound the C63 makes will make it a much better DD in my opinion. Best of both worlds. I was worried about moving to the C63 from the M3 (which is an amazing car) but not any longer

dkhm3

Thanks Gthal!

How about comparing the coupe v sedan for the c63? was there any difference as far as the track is concerned? did the coupe feel edgier, lighter, etc? i know you're already coupe biased heh.

coladin

My brother is in that picture with all the cars! lol

2nd from the left, Danny is facing him. He has a Black series on order. I was supposed to go but couldn't make it, ah well...some other time. It ain't all bad I guess, on my way to see Bob Seger!

SonnyakaPig

Great write-up. Glad to hear you had fun.

I'm interested to hear your perspective on the C63 sedan vs. coupe as well.

Helms

Thats awesome! thanks for sharing!

gthal

I had a chat with him tonight... Small world.

gthal

Funny that you asked as we were having a discussion with the instructors about this tonight at dinner. Most of the instructors I spoke to actually prefer the C63 to the other AMG cars in a track setting. I thought that was interesting.

From a coupe/sedan perspective, I couldn't tell much of a difference other than the sedan had more headroom but I didn't have a chance to really compare and think about it. However, two of the instructors said they prefer he coupe for the track as they believed it felt and behaved like it was lighter than he sedan even though it wasn't actually lighter. I didn't experience this... or at least I didn't notice it... but two of the "experts" felt this way fairly strongly. I suspect for many of us who are not at their level, any difference wouldn't be noticeable.

Roswell

Great write-up gthal... I can feel your excitement as I did the performance tour last year in Mt-Tremblant, Canada.

coladin, I can see your brother (1st amg) is an AMG at heart... he travels America for the chance to drive the AMG fleet.. lol! I hope he will come on here & share his feedbacks (if he got the chance to drive the BS).

Roswell

It's also funny to see most of the cars have Ontario, Canada license plate.

gthal

They actually shipped the cars down from Ontario

natman316

Nice write up. Is the black series alot different to the standard c63?

I was interested about how the coupe/sedan felt on the track as well. Glad to hear they arent too different since I am probably going with the sedan (like the styling more + more practical) but I do want to track the car alot.

gthal

The BS is very different. It is essentially a race car. It was my favourite AMG at the event.

C63AMG_COUPE

I was there on dec 1st I did find out I preferred the sedan because of the seats which are way more supportive than the coupe's seats

here's a few pics

C63AMG_COUPE

some more!!!

gthal

That is an advantage for the sedan... Adjustable bolsters. That and headroom.

black-clk500

Nice writeup!
The M fanboys will have your head for this review

I agree with you except for the part about the SLS.
After tracking both cars at Lime Rock, I can say the SLS is a better car than our C is.
The SLS is a better car than our C is in every category IMO, but it is 3X the money!
If I could swing it, there would be a SLS in my garage right now!!!
I guess you could say I'm a SLS fanboy

Just my .02
Great post, thanks!!

Pit-Pony

I attended the AMG event in Vegas (Pahrump actually) last year. I liked the C best as well. Never drove the coup of course.

I'd love to hear from someone who drove both the old and new transmission for impressions on any improvement or benefits.

discoduck

Had a chance to do this when they were here in Toronto. Loved it! They wouldn't let us touch the C63 coupe though, it only had 500 kms lol.

Roswell

How much was this event in Florida? May I ask why some year the event is complimentary & some cost money?

C63AMG_COUPE

you pay your plane tickets, that's it MB canada and your dealer take care of the rest

Roswell

Nice to hear they still have "free" events like last year in Mt-Tremblant. But why this year the cost was around 3950$ in Mt-Tremblant? Different kind of event?

coladin

My brother 1stamg, said he hit 163mph on the straght in the SLS...yikes!

gthal

I was behind him and it was more like 163km/h.

J/K

We are stuck in NY together now as flights into Canada are being cancelled.