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2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Preview

Mercedes-Benz makes great luxury cars. They also happen to make greatperformance cars. Just the same, most people view the three-pointed star from a cosseting, comforting, prestigious point of view than anything else, a position that the brand has been trying so very hard to change. Through its in-house tuning shop, AMG, Mercedes-Benz has been able to inject sport into almost every model it makes, and in the process has brought out some pretty serious artillery. Most recently there's been the Black Series SLK 55 and CLK 63, which have come out with guns blazing, and how can anyone ignore the hopped up Mercedes-McLaren SLR 722? A car so awesome they've named it after the legendary race car that Juan Manuel Fangio raced.

Sure, it's fun to talk about the 65-Series sedans, coupes and roadsters with their twin-turbocharged V12s that put out so much power they're actually electronically

Just when you thought compact luxury sedans couldn't get any hotter, along comes Mercedes... (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

limited to prevent damage to the internals, but it's the mainstream stuff that always gets people talking, especially volume products like the AMG tuned E-Class, dubbed E55, which has been in a power race primarilywith BMW's M5 and Audi's S6. Another great one is the C-Class, which as a matter of fact was the first product that AMG modified after it had been officially integrated into Mercedes-Benz. The C-Class' tuned history spans quite a few years, from 1993 with the launch of the C36 AMG, to the V8-powered C43, and has also included the C32 Kompressor, not to mention

At 6.2 liters, this V8 is anything but small. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

the naturally aspirated C55, a prime example of using brute force to earn distinction amongst rivals. In the latest generation of AMG massaged C-Class, the numbers have continued to grow, now named C63.

Five years ago, 300 horsepower would have been considered serious output for a compact luxury car, but not any more as the game has since moved on to bigger and more glorious numbers. Take the Audi RS4, which features 420 horsepower from a 4.2-liter V8, an awe inspiring amount ofpower for such a small car. BMW then matched Audi's ante with its 420-hp 4.0-liter V8-powered M3. And Mercedes-Benz? Their engine is a 6.2-liter V8 that makes an outlandish 457 horsepower, which, besides putting others in a position to

C's exterior styling is more aggressive than its ever been. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

fold is only 20 horsepower off the pace of the engine that powers the C-Class DTM touring race car!

Being a big-bore engine, there's 442 lb-ft of torque on tap, 369 lb-ft of which is available between 2,000 and 5,000 rpm, an impressively flat torque curve given that there's no forced aspiration to speak of. This is the same engine that's been fitted to most of the new AMG cars, like the R-Class, CLK-Class and CL-Class, though the power rating is slightly less, as fitting this big engine into the C's little bay required some rather restrictive piping.

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