Boom! Just like that the Mercedes-AMG C63 coupe is no longer just a C-Class with two less doors.
That’s also the sound of a super-sized gauntlet being thrown toward at a certain BMW M4 rival.
The Affalterbach performance division aims to move from strength to strength and right previous wrongs. If the old C63 coupe was a bit blocky and lacking stance, then AMG has done a fine job of making the new one both swoopier and fatter.
We’ll only get the C63 S in Australia from about the middle of next year, and it gets the same 375kW/700Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
But the slightly smaller two-door monsters 100km/h in a claimed 3.9 seconds, a tenth faster than the four-door. There are a few reasons why, and plenty of nerdy devil in the detail comparing C63 S sedan to C63 S coupe.
Compared with regular versions of the new C-Class coupe, mighty wheel arch flares push width of the C63 S out by 66 millimetres at the rear and 64mm at the front. This compares to only 14mm wider front wings on the C63 S sedan compared with C-Class sedan.
Coupe is shorter front to rear than sedan – by 36mm – and lighter by a scant 5kg (now 1725kg).
Benz says it isn’t just the weight reduction that gets the performance gains over the four-door, but also wider tyres and shorter-legged rear-axle ratios.
Rear rubber width moves up by 20mm to 285mm and front width is up 10mm to a 255mm, each on a 19-inch alloy rim propped by wheel bearings pushed 25mm further out than the sedan, along with stiffer elastokinematic tuning and higher negative camber.
Our country’s S-only regime will bring with it an electronically controlled mechanical rear limited-slip differential and dynamic engine mounts, as per the already-released sedan.
Other than that there aren’t many differences unless you love frameless doors, no middle rear seat and enjoy the subtle black lip spoiler atop a fatter, more horizontally focused rear end.
AMG clearly believes it is even better to drive than the sedan, though – it tags the C63 S coupe as the sportiest C-Class ever. We doubt they’re forgetting the wicked $250K-plus C63 Black Series either.
Expect a circa $165K starting price from mid next year, or about $10K more than the sedan.
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