cantdrive55

according to an official mb dealer memo dated 4/4/07, base price for the s63 will be $127,000, the cl 63 will be $137,000 and both will have 518 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque... the memo also states that both cars will come standard with 20" 5 spoke amg light alloy wheels and have estimated 0-60 times of 4.5 seconds... launch is stated as being scheduled for late spring 2007...

it also states that the new clk63 black series will have a base price of $135,000, 500 horsepower/465 lb-ft of torque, 19" forged alluminum multi spoke wheels and an estimated 0-60 of 4.1 seconds - yikes!!! launch is stated as being scheduled for early sumer 2007...

hope this is helpful...

turtle10250

All these cars are present and shown at the NY Car Show this week.
Any idea what pricing is like for options or the performance package? Can you post the memo?

JRAMGV8

CLK 63 for $135,000!!!

Chucky300

yea i was thinking same thing. Whats up with a $135,000 CLK..... unless its because its a race car made for the streets so all that carbon fiber is costly. but still - the CLK 63 Black is same price as CL63?

Ted Baldwin

............I agree with you. Mercedes never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. They did not put the AMGV8K engine in the W208 or W209 CLK55 and as a result the W211 E55K became their most popular AMG car and Kleemann supercharged versions of the W208 and W209 became quite popular. People saw the CLk55 as a second string line of AMG cars because of its horse power deficit. However, when the CLK63 came out, they refused to sell the hard top in the US, because the previous hard top W209 CLk55 did not sell well. What a stupid mistake. They did not understand that the reason the hard top W209 did not sell well was because it was underpowered relative to the W211 E55, and lacked a quad exhaust. Now they offer the CLK63 black series which admittedly is an awesome car but they price it the same as a CL63. You can buy a Gallardo for that much money. I wonder if they withheld the hardtop version of the regular CLK63 for the purpose of selling the CLK63 black series at a premium. If so, they screwed up. They have a potential huge market for the AMG CLK but they keep keeping them unsatisfied. If the regular hardtop CLK63 had been brought to the US, it would have been the next big hit for AMG........bigger than the W211 E55 was.

Ted

Chucky300

Yup! I dont understand it. There must be a reason - they arent that dumb. I dont get it though - I know what you mean about the big market for the CLK 63 Coupe in America - and why people did not buy it before when it was a CLK 55 (old body).... no power.

What I dont get is - Why they dont offer it BOTH ways now - CLK 63 and CLK 63 Black. For those that want to buy the Black Series will buy it to Race it... not really for everday anyways!! This makes no sense.

Another thing - aside from this - I think Mercedes / AMG have cheapened their brand. They now have like 60 cars in their lineup. 12 Classes.... with an average of 5 models in each.... Gone are the days of MB traditional Boutique buying with like 8 models sitting on the showroom floor.

• 2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class • 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
• 2007 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class • 2007 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
• 2007 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class • 2007 Mercedes-Benz R-Class
• 2007 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class • 2007 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
• 2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class • 2007 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
• 2007 Mercedes-Benz G-Class • 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class

cantdrive55

here is the memo that was requested...

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...1&d=1176050723

hope this is helpful...

sprins

Don't rule out the dumb factor. The SLK AMG Black Series turned out to be a bummer for obvious reasons. The R63 AMG apparently didn't sell one car (not sure if in Europe, or worldwide). They f*cked up the quality severely from 2000 to 2002. The MBUSA's c.s. of the world (importing companies) make very strange decisions from time to time...

billving

,,

Chucky300

Truth is - ur right. One just doesnt want to think a multi Billion $ company could allow so many decisions to have been poor choices.

R63........ TOTALLY rediculous. NO ONE is buying that car..... why would they?

2000 - 2002 was so bad that im surprised that mercedes customers gave the brand another Chance. You could ask my Service Advisor, Christian at MB Manhattan - if I had 2 problems (real problems) with my car, I would sell it and get a porsche instead. I had SO MANY issues with my last car... (2002 S500) Everyday - something else it seemed. ABC suspension failed twice.... Horn broke 3 times....... everyday..... too many things to say!

SLK Black Series....... nonsense....

You are right.

JRAMGV8

Shoot if that's the case I rather go for the CL63 for that price.

Germancar1

Lots of speculation there Ted. The real issue is that the CLK Coupe doesn't sell as well as the Cabrio in V8 form. This long drawn out theory you have is interesting, but not based on anything factual.

The CLK63 Black Series will sell out in no time.

M

MercPlease

Some of their models are so repetitive, seriously how many "C's" do they need? C..CL...CLK...CLS.. I'm sure they can come up with something else.

Wouldnt it be easier to have 2 sedans, 2 convertables, 2 SUV's, and R class? Something like that.. I dunno.. seems like to many models for me. Especially when you look at companies like MINI or Aston Martin...

Ted Baldwin

...............of course it is all theory. Neither you nor I are in board room with AMG. I will be interested in your reason why the CLK55 coupe didn't sell well in the US. From your post, you seem to be saying that Americans no longer like V8 cars. Perhaps Americans still love V8's except when it is in a CLK55. You may wish to look through several CLK55 forum and see what people didn't like about it. I have..........and it was all about the lack of power relative to other AMG's, dislike for W209 body style and lack of quad exhaust. You may come up with something different, but kindly post it.

.......I don't doubt that the CLK63 black series will sell out. It is made in limited numbers and the reason it will sell is because there is no hard top CLK63 in the USA. Again you may wish to look at how well the SLK55 black series did not do. In the case of the SLK55, the black series did not do well. What do you think was the reason?

Ted

C43AMG

Maybe because half of all the AMG cars produced are bought in the U.S. and this model wasn't offered here.

sprins

Right. However, the other half didn't sell either.

Probable reason: Porsche GT3 money for a Mercedes "hairdressers" convertible which roof won't open anymore.

(Edit) Besides it could only be ordered directly from AMG. Local Mercedes shops would hardly make any money (if any) selling one, thus lacking incentive from salespeople (another not-so-smart decision).

whoover

The Black Series are strange beasts with inherently limited appeal. They purport to be truly trackable MBs, and certainly they are much more suitable to the track than "normal" AMGs. But they are still loaded with heavy luxury items that no serious weekend racer would want in a competitive environment. They're in the same category as the SLR: as competitive a racer as can be built while retaining the comfort and luxury of the Mercedes marque. But that means severly compromised racing characteristics, by definition, largely because of weight.

There's no question that more competitve cars can be had for less money if tracking is the goal. And if it's not, what's the point?

Ted Baldwin

.............se Sprin's post.


Ted

Germancar1

I think the CLK55 didn't sell because of power when I think about it, it wasn't a serious enough upgrade over the CLK430, and I think people just like convertibles more and most expensive coupe of the lineup will just be left hanging. However, buyers reportedly demanded the CLK55 Cabrio be brought over for the last model year of the W208 and Mercedes did so.

I haven't see any numbers for the SLK Black Series. You're saying it hasn't sold well? Got any numbers or links on this? I would guess that the price killed the SLK Black Series if it indeed has been a flop and from what I've read it isn't as hard-core as Mercedes wants you to think. I think the CLK will do much better, it doesn't seem to be as overpriced and the performance will no doubt be greater.

M

Blk04cobra1

Good luck getting a CLK63 black series...we just had a quick meeting about it and it looks like the majority of the allocations are pre-sold...or at least only available to a select few

norb

The CLK63 could have been the car that put AMG on the map, but they over priced it. It's go the real deal bits, adjustable suspension, carbon fiber body, nice engine, no sunroof, but at that price, its competing against the Porsche Turbo, which probably kicks its ***. Not to mention its more expensive than the Audi R8!

They should have made it $100K and made it a car that brings attention to the AMG line.

Chucky300

While I agree with Everything you say above........ there is a problem. At $100K....... it would surely hit the sales on the SL/CL 550.

Unless the customer is only into the lux aspect of the benz drive...... one would have to question their purchase "Do i want lux for $100,000 or do i want SERIOUS SPEED for my $100,000" At the end of the day - sales might remain the same for the CL / SL - but at the same price point - ud have to think twice. (I LOVE the CL / SL - but for the same price, i could have a MUCH faster car......... i might go with that!)

Schiznick

Just look at all of the press and discussions that this car has brought to AMG over the past month. Looks to me like it could not have done more for AMG. Why lower the price to 100K? To sell more? That would destroy the whole concept.

As long as they stick to their 350 number it should remain something special.

In the grand scheme of things 100K or 135K, who cares..... With all of the trick pieces that they say it has, it should be a great "Mercedes" track car. The fact that it has 19X9 front rims is refreshing from my perspective. They should know a thing or two about running this car around a race track since this is the second year that it is pacing the F1 field.

Is it really intended to compete against the Porsche Turbo? Seems like more GT3 or GT3 RS territory. My guess is that in the hands of the right driver the Porsche would be faster then the CLK63 BS at the limit but.... for normal track driving with an above average driver I bet the CLK will be easier to handle quickly. Most of us drive at our limits, no where near these cars limits.

Just my .02

Cheers!

Schiz

norb

Yea but at $130K its the same price as the CL63. There won't be too many MB owners who wouldn't go for the CL63 over the CLK63BE. At $100K, the demand would be outrageous because its limited to 350, there would be giant mark ups in the secondary market and the buzz would be around for a great while. Look at the Porsche GT3RS, nothing that different from a GT3 but its super limited and msrp right at $120K.

The 997TT automatic (like the CLK63BE) goes 0-60 in 3.2 seconds! That is seriously fast. The CLK63BE is rated at 4.1, from MB. Unless the CLK63BE is super light, the 997TT can probably beat it on the track.

Ted Baldwin

.............I have no doubt that the CLK63 black series will be a much better track car than most production MB cars, but it weighs only 400Lbs less than the convertible regular CLK63. I don't see it beating a 997TT on the track. The more I think about, the more I think that MB will ultimately introduce the regular CLK63 coupe to the US market.........after it is done selling the CLK63 black series to some unfortunate folks at $130K and generating demand for the the regular CLK63 coupe. The said coupe will likely weight the same 400Lbs less than the convertible like most coupes do and probably perform pretty close to the black series.

Ted