Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe Black Series Review

The Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe Black Series was never supposed to exist. It did not appear in AMG’s product strategy, nor was there a spreadsheet-driven commercial case for building it. Instead, a few AMG engineers and designers created it for fun while the rest of their colleagues were away on summer holiday. When the boss came back, he saw the project and immediately gave it the green light. Just 18 months later – an extraordinarily short period by usual car-development standards – the completed car has arrived. And it is an absolute weapon.

Recent encounters with the noisy CLK and the downright intimidating SL65 AMG Black Series suggest these cars are developed by the unhinged wing of the factory tuning department. Both produce vastly more power than anyone could reasonably require. The C63 AMG Coupe Black Series – CBS from here onwards – follows exactly the same philosophy.

Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe Black Series powertrain

At first glance, it may seem like a more extreme version of the already furious C63 AMG. Look more closely at the specification, however, and it has considerably more in common with its larger sibling, the AMG SLS, than with the standard car. With 517bhp, it delivers 60bhp more than the regular C63 AMG and only 46bhp less than the gullwing model. The rear tyres are probably the only component unable to celebrate those figures.

The CBS gets so close to the SLS’s output because the larger model generously donated several of its parts. Both use 6.2-litre V8 engines, giving AMG’s engineers plenty to take from the SLS’s M159 and install in the CBS’s M156. The list includes forged pistons, connecting rods, the crankshaft and a larger oil cooler. Having squeezed all that in, they fitted a completely new – and evidently lobotomised – control unit, shut the bonnet and fled.

That seems sensible, because the CBS reaches 100km/h in only 4.2secs through the same AMG Speedshift MCT seven-speed gearbox fitted to the regular C63 AMG. It has four driving modes – none offering an economy-focused stop/start function – plus a Race Start button, and can change gear as quickly as a Ferrari FXX. Which is very quickly indeed.

Since it uses a ‘lite’ version of the SLS engine, there are no turbochargers to mute or otherwise dilute the heavy-metal soundtrack created by its eight cylinders and free-flowing eight-into-two-into-four exhaust. Each upshift and downshift therefore comes with the same smile-inducing effects. The noise alone is reason enough to own one.

C63 AMG Coupe Black Series chassis and brakes

Better still, buying it solely for the soundtrack is unnecessary, because its handling is excellent as well. In place of the standard C63 AMG arrangement, the CBS receives the adjustable KW coilover suspension fitted to all Black Series models, allowing damping and ride height adjustments, along with numerous chassis upgrades. Front and rear tracks are wider by 40mm and 79mm respectively, the anti-roll bars have been revised, and the speed-sensitive steering assistance has been recalibrated to give a more mechanical sensation.

With the go-fast hardware addressed, the brakes have also been upgraded for the greater speeds involved. The anti-lock braking system now cuts in later, while the regular discs make way for substantially larger ventilated carbon-composite items: 390mm at the front and 360mm at the rear. Red six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers complete the package.

To make these mechanical alterations obvious – while also keeping the car planted to road or circuit – the CBS has adopted suitably aggressive exterior styling. Mercedes would like you to see a slight resemblance to the SLS AMG GT3 that Mika Häkkinen will campaign next year, though it plainly does not really look like it. Both cars have rear diffusers protruding proudly from their backs, along with implausibly swollen front and rear wheelarches and sills. Beyond that, though, the comparison runs out.

That is hardly a concern. Featuring vast air intakes and lightweight gunmetal wheels that save 11kg per set over the standard items, the CBS looks exactly as it should: a wealthy hooligan with a season pass to a race circuit. Select the Aerodynamics Package and it becomes even more intimidating, adding a carbon-fibre front splitter, adjustable carbon-fibre rear spoiler and carbon-fibre flics on the side pods. Alternatively, the Track Package provides ultra-sticky Dunlop tyres and a rear-axle transmission radiator for those wanting a subtler appearance. The sensible choice is to specify both; doing otherwise would be like purchasing a horse without a saddle.

Track-focused cabin technology

The cabin contains the expected features: two bucket seats, red seatbelts and stitching, an optional rear-seat delete, and an Alcantara-trimmed AMG Performance steering wheel. It also introduces the AMG Performance Media system, which lets you view, download and endlessly boast about your circuit exploits. It records lateral, or side-to-side, acceleration, linear acceleration and braking, as well as lap times. You can even programme your own route – such as the commute to work – then compare sector times between, for example, roundabouts each day.

Not that the system is needed to confirm how enjoyable the CBS is. Drive it hard around a circuit or along a favourite country road and the answer becomes clear almost instantly. It has sufficient power to get you into a tonne of trouble, plus the chassis ability to extract you from it – precisely the combination wanted from a sports car.

If the C63 AMG Coupe Black Series is the result of AMG engineers staying at work rather than taking holidays, then here is a suggestion: cancel all company leave for the next decade.