14 May 07
Outside, the Black Series modifications really work, especially when the car is painted in a distinctly non-Mercedes red. It looks fantastic from behind, with its wide tyres on 19" forged alloys, big wheel arches, tiny spoiler on the boot, four tail pipes and diffuser-style bodywork.
It sounds brilliant, too. It's best heard from outside, when it's accelerating hard, but it's pretty good from inside too, where you get a lovely burble when the engine's on over-run.
On the road it's never as flickable and responsive as a Porsche 911, but it's ferociously quick to accelerate from any speed, helped by a revised final drive ratio for the seven-speed paddleshift transmission. The red line is way up at 7,000rpm - same as on the regular CLK63 AMG - but it's not a peaky engine. You can keep it in pretty much any of the seven gears at pretty much any speed and it will pull handsomely.
The stiff chassis and just-supple-enough suspension make sure the wheels always feel firmly attached to the road. The accurate, responsive steering assures you that you're in charge, with the thick composite brakes and recalibrated stability control system more than capable of bailing you out if needed. It's a thrilling car, if not as involving as less expensive cars such as the 911 and the Audi R8.
So, what is this sporty, agile, super-quick, super-expensive two-seat coupe? It's one of several ways into the future for AMG. It's not everyone's cup of tea, and not everyone's idea of £100,000 well spent, but it's a mightily impressive achievement and a lot of fun.
