Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

Road Test

Your Say

Test date 12 December 2007 Price as tested £51,425

For Looks, performance, steering, new ESP system, cabin quality, handling

AgainstHard ride, poor fuel economy and range, upshifts could be quicker

The C63 is more than just another alternative to the ubiquitous BMW M3. In many ways it’s the most serious attempt yet by Mercedes’ performance arm, AMG, to put one over its nemesis from Munich.

The first C-class AMG to really make an impression on the UK market was the C32. The C32 engine was a supercharged V6 that developed thundering performance and was mated to a far more sophisticated auto gearbox.

When the C55 subsequently replaced the C32, there were many who regarded it as a backward step. That’s not an accusation you could level at the C63, though; it blitzes all the AMG C-classes that have gone before it. The first UK cars will arrive in showrooms early next year, left-hookers having made their debut in mainland Europe last summer.

As the badge intimates, the engine is a whopping great 6.3-litre V8 that develops 457bhp and 442lb ft, while the corresponding level of performance is big enough – in theory – to blitz anything the new M3 can offer. And all for just £692 more than the new M3; the C63 costs £51,317, as opposed to £50,625 for the BMW.

But the key difference between this car and those previously served up by AMG is that, according to its creators, it is a genuine driver’s car, rather than merely a very powerful, faster version of an ordinary Mercedes.

This time AMG has focused as hard on getting the dynamics right as it has on delivering huge power, hence the steering, brakes, suspension and even the ESP have all been completely redesigned to deliver a sharper driving experience. The results are spectacular.