WTDoom

Im due to see this beast tomorrow .
Photos and writeup to follow , very very excited here !
Do you guys have any questions you want me to ask ? I'd be delighted to help .

JamE55

Can you see if you can get a complete list of all the options that is going to be offered for this beast? Also official pricing? I know it may not be the same for the US but at least we have a gauge.

rage2

I'm pretty sure Europe and North America options are completely different. US will be like Canada, comes with nearly everything already. Only options are the Aero pack, the track pack, and choice of wheel color.

SMP

Me too .... I'm going to the preview night here in Los Angeles. Are you going to the same event?

Lizard

Can we find out the anticipated production number of this vehicle?

Maverick1975

From the official paperwork i have seen it is 700 vehicles

LOVEMYBS

I'm curious, it that 700 for 2012 or, 700 total production?

MarcusF

While at the press debut yesterday I picked up the US spec press kit for the Black Series. The US specs and equipment list are here and here. The marketing reps told me prices for the optional packages had not been establised, so I pulled those numbers from the two web pages.

rage2

Interesting... compared to Canada, the US cars doesn't come with the CF exterior pieces standard. Otherwise, the options are the same.

Maverick1975

Will only ever be 700 vehicles in total

WTDoom

Had a very long day but well worth it . AMG rep said 600 world wide . 66 cars (!) only to UK .
Chassis stiffer than CLK . Significantly faster than CLK .
Did notice and told them the interior not as bespoke as the CLK ( mercedes rep agreed ) . Its like ( no offence ) the USA CLK black with normal door cards and side airbags etc etc
Very well made mind you with a great feeling steering wheel .
Prices not 100 per cent but looks like over 100 000 POUNDS STERLING (!) basic .
Telemetry function is absolutely fantastic , times car on track ( with actual track graphics ) , acceleration , g forces etc

it sounded absolutely great , revy raspy and sls like . engine seems to rev much faster than clk and throttle more immediate .

He did not have any info on us cars im afraid but he seemed to think they would be different but not specified how . I think your cars are significantly heavier , I think you have glass pan roofs and comfort seats with more electrics ( sound systems etc ).
He told me euro mags that have driven it ( Euro cars ) and have raved about it and the reviews will be very favourable . apparently being touted by the press as the best handling merc ever and " even better than the mighty CLK Black series "
. They were very pleased with themselves indeed . Best news of all is its still a hooligan and slidey like a rattlesnake

Have a few vids and photos ill post later .
Look forward to comparing with it with 4.0 rs on track .

Also said the sls black will be " a MONSTER " I cant wait !

Maverick1975

Awesome update, will you be keeping CLK Black Series?

WTDoom

It looked awesome but WILL NEVER REPLACE THE CLK BLACK ! We parked it next to my friends CLK and it just doesnt look and crazy . I will never be selling my CLK black ,its a very special bit of kit .

I do think a Black C coupe with aerokit will look like it has just escaped from a DTM track though .

Jim Brady

Attended AMG preview at the LA auto show last night where the ML63 and Slk55 were also unveiled along with the C63 BS.

The car has the same theme but according to Mario Spitzner had more development time than the CLK63 BS which they built in 8 mos. Reported curb weight is 3700 lbs which should be lighter than the CLK. Mario did mention that the new model was 19 seconds faster around the Nordschleif than the previous CLK BS. This might be due to tires and the aero package.

The allocation of cars to the USA will be less than the CLK due to a strong market demand in Germany and China. So if you want one better see your dealer. Pricing will be less than the CLK but with aero, and track package you'll be close to the same as the CLK in price.

Not enough of a difference to make me want one. I'll keep my CLK63 thank you.

Lizard

19 seconds is an eternity on a race track. That's how much faster the CLK BS as compared to a C55 AMG or 2010 Camaro SS. While the Clk is still the better looking car, the C appears to be an improvement in all other aspects. Now let's see the pricing.

Jim Brady

It depends on what time you use as the CLK's. The factory said it was less than 8 minutes so it puts the time at around 7:41 for the new car. Bernrd Schneider did a 7:45 in the CLK. Aero is the difference.

WTDoom

Jim , FYI Schneider did not do a 7.45 . That was a theoretical , ask him yourself at the next AMG event and he will tell you it was an off the cuff comment that went on to somehow become fact .
I think its a little unrealistic to expect AMG and mercedes to make no progress in 5 years , thats a lot of time my friend ( Look at Ferrari , Porsche et all . Surely Mercedes and AMG are not the dunces of the car community ) .
I love my CLK Black but its not just the aero mate . I was told specifically that the new car is lapping " at least 19 seconds faster around the Nordschleife ". Its faster on all tracks its been on including Hockenheim and Laguna Seca .

WTDoom

No sir , Im in the UK and we had a private viewing and Q an A session session with AMG engineers .

H-MAN

This could be a Benz to sell the p-car for. Sounds like it may be priced very aggressively in the U.S. if this holds true. Anyone believe less than $100K?

http://jalopnik.com/5860326/2012-mer...-cheaper-speed

SMP

You're right, the 7:45 was never confirmed. Published lap time for the CLK BS is 8:02, so the C63 BS is around 7:45 on the Nordschleife. But that time is achieved with a car equipped with aero package, track package and the newly developed Dunlop's. A car without those packages and with rear seats will not do that time. The Dunlop's alone are good for 5-6 sec. a lap on a long track like the Nuerburgring. The rest is the aero and the new differential, which has 60% lock on acceleration and 50% on deceleration, which will make the car much more stable under braking and easier to power out of turns.

The C63 BS is a great performer, no doubt about it. Lots of development dollars spent with good results. Very aggressive looking on the exterior, but with a little disappointing looking interior.

Unfortunately, the EURO cars are (as usual ) the nicer ones compared to the US versions. No Recaro's and if rumors are true, a panoramic sunroof instead of a steel roof. With a glass roof at the highest point of the car, performance at the track will suffer greatly. Not only will it roll and push like crazy in corners, but it also has to accelerate and decelerate all the added weight in and out of a corner.

WTDoom

I agree but remember the Dunlops are not that much better than a Corsa System , they are between a system and a cup .

jrcart

NOT! I've been working with my dealership and they have been working with MBNA and Germany for a month securing me an early allocation, I'm told the base price will be $106k with gas guzzler all the way up just north of $140k with all the goodies and gas guzzler. I should have mine in early March (I'm hoping). Ordering info should be going live on Star network within a few days I'm told.

March delivery, ship it to Weistec right away and have another MONSTER by June 1st :0

jrcart

if the panoramic roof part is true, that's terrible. The aftermarket for additional bracing and cf roofs will be HUGE!

Jim Brady

FWIW,
The official factory line the CLK, BS was sub 8 minutes. I heard that with my own ears when I was at Affalterbach when the question was asked at the magazines AMG Masters race. The magazines tested at 8:02 so close enough. Motor Trend rode with Schneider on a near sub 8 minute lap and when asked Schneider said "7:45" and that was reported in Motor Trend Magazine. That reporting is from a primary source not a secondary source when he's being interviewed by Motor Trend. So my question is with hundreds of laps Schneider doesn't know what times he's turned and the journelist just made it up! More likely the conservative part of AMG doesn't want this to be a pissing contest and gracefully in corporate speak say it wasn't confirmed which they know could lead to what Porsche and the GT-R went though. To be honest I really don't care as it has little to do with the way I drive the car.

If you're launching a new car you want it to be better and it should be as AMG has had more time to engineer the car. I'm guessing one of the improvements they haven't mentioned is a less intrusive ESP.
To correlate that time my home track of Willow Springs a pro driver will lap a CLK BS in 1:29.46 with the ESP off and 1:32 with it on. We'll see how much faster the new C BS is, and that will be my bench mark. I hope its at least 4 seconds.

Carac

I'm willing to bet that has more to do with the relative strength of the Euro and Yen. They even increased the base price of the SLS by 6000 dollars for the 2012 model to recoup some of the difference. The profit margin is MUCH higher outside of the US. The economy was in a much different place in fall 2007 when the CLK was released.