david_101

i've posted elsewhere on MBWorld that the CLK63 coupe is not great in any performance category. we drove them around hockenheim during november 2006. the tail is unstable. simple as that. the torque just doesn't stick to the pavement very well. other than a few other control and performance nit-piks, there was one thing VERY irritating: we continually dropped the rear passenger window unintentionally. had to be our elbow action during slaloms. the CLK63 coupe was the least desired car at the track, other than an E63 wagon. (the two most desired were SLK55 BE and Asia, followed by C55 DTM, CLS63 and an SL55. all cars wore the ubiquitous MB silver or DTM graphics.)

on another note, i just received a call from my preferred dealer to inform me that a black CLK63BE was expected to become available during august, and that a silver and i think a white car were expected to follow shortly thereafter. they're only now deciding whether to accept deposits, which i offered to provide if it were refundable.

spifffs

so are you saying you ARE going to buy one or what, you said they are crap but yet your going to put a deposit?

david_101

if you're asking me, then the answer is a resounding maybe. i might buy one.

the CLK63 DTM seemed great. the CLK63 coupe wasn't great.

david_101

today, i received the reservation form for a silver-over-black CLK63BE, which i'll probably sign and return this week.
and so the waiting begins...all over again.

Stiggs

Damn, this thread brings up alot of interesting points on the W209 CLK.
First off, I had a W208 CLK430. Hard to say if it was better looking than the W209 because they are completely different. Apples and oranges. The W209 is more SL like with the headlights where the W208 was more E class like with its headlights. Different styles for different tastes. I like both.
Maybe the W209 is a little more feminine looking than the W208....at least the AMG model is not as feminine as the lesser models i.e. 320 and 500.
Next....someone keeps calling the quad exhaust tips the "AMG signature". Thats crap. Look at the old W210 E55, the W208 CLK55, the SLK32, and the C32......all these had one sided dual tip exhaust. Unfortunately it took the W209 until 2005 to catch up with the rest of the models. That part is sad.
Would I have loved the dual exhaust in 2003...hell yeah! Was it available.....no.

Don't forget the pillarless design of the W209....that alone helps beat out the W208!

SoCalCLK

The CLK550 has the AMG body kit, rims and exhaust. The front bumper is not the same as on the CLK63, but the CLK550 is faster than any CLK ever made, except the CLK63.

382hp/391tq, 0-60mph in 5.1 seconds? Wow!!! The previous CLK55 AMG only made 360hp and 0-60 in 5.5. ouch.

The W209 does look like an SL, but the pillarless design!? All I have to say, is that some of us like seeing the thong stick out from the jeans, you know what I mean??

david_101

i admit to a certain thrill -- like torque in the back -- from that thong phenomenon...

Stiggs

Mercedes claimed 0-60 times were as follows :
W208 AMG = 4.9sec
W209 AMG = 5.0sec


This was directly from their manuals. Not sure where you are getting 5.5sec for a CLK55?