Picked up my C63 AMG Coupe PP
What can I say ? Wonderful car, I'm really very impressed.
Car has winter wheels with 225s/18'' all around but traction issues are minimal and only if I'm not careful with my throttle foot from standstill. It rained today, 5°C only and despite the powerful engine, I never had traction issues, so all these stories about the drifting machine may be true but not if you don't provoke it. Car is very stable, even on wet pavement and in sharp turns, maybe the LSD helps too but you just need to avoid using the throttle. Throttle response is very direct, even in "C" mode but in "S+" mode, it is unbelievable, as if my foot is directly in the engine, controlling every breath of it. Amazing. The ESP setup, even in normal mode, is pretty sporty for a Mercedes, I only saw the ESP warning light twice and only from standstill and because my throttle foot was nervous.
Steering feel is very similar to the M3 Coupe (not Cab, the M3 Cab of my wife feels heavier), very direct and precise. The C63 AMG Coupe feels lighter than my 997 Carrera GTS Cab, which is surprising. The sound of the exhaust is out of this world, just amazing, pure aural sex (sorry for this comparison but it really is great). Even at revs below 2000 rpm, people are turning their heads but unfortunately I already got my first middle finger and of course that typical "slow down" hand sign...I was doing 40 kph in 50 kph zone. Starting up the engine sounds amazing too, the engine does a short "vrooom", which is quite impressive if you are in a closed garage. "Arschloch" was the reaction of a voice (it is a pity I didn't see where it was coming from) in an indoor parking garage, I had the windows open because I wanted to listen to the sound.
The fuel consumption is not that great I'm afraid, 20-21 l / 100 km average in the city and I didn't even drive fast. Car had only 360 km onboard and I still have to run it in for another 1100 km or so. Maximum speed is limited to 140 kph and max rev figure is limited to 4500 rpm. Bummer. It is very difficult to resist but my mechanic told me that the M156 engine, the MCT gearbox and the LSD are very sensible to the run in procedure, so I try to listen. I don't know however how long I will be able to keep my foot from pressing the throttle much further.
The quality feel, exterior and interior, is very good and at least at par with Porsche, even if the leather seems to look better on a Porsche. The carbon mirrors and the carbon rear spoiler lip look nice but most people will probably think that this stuff is fake, so it kind of looks weird on such a car, it would suit a super sports car much better in my opinion. The rear diffuser is kind of an visual overkill for a Mercedes Coupe, it looks great but pretty aggressive. I also wish AMG would offer some sort of a brake caliper color option because the red calipers look nice but attract way too much attention.
The COMAND Online system with HK Logic 7 audio system also works pretty well and fast. Speech recognition is very good (I trained it first), only downside: The internet access doesn't work with a phone without DUN profile (thus none of the iPhone 4 or major Android models). Bummer.
As soon as I finish my run-in period and as soon as I switch to summer wheels, I will add my experience to this short report.
All i can say right now is that I am not disappointed with this little puppy. Amazing car for somewhat little money, not bad at all.
Here are a couple of iPhone photos, not very good ones but at least you get an idea.
Better photos to follow after switching to the summer wheels (end of March, mid of April).
My son loves the AMG engine...
Say Hi to Mr. Markus Pfeiffer...the guy who built the engine...
Copying Apple music files from the SD card to the internal 10GB HDD...it works flawlessly.
Sales person really walked the "extra mile" for me, very surprising and pleasant presentation...my son loved it.
My winter rims...the summer wheels are black painted and in 19'' size. The brake system looks impressive, especially with the smaller rims but the 225s all around are kind of lame for such a car.
Nice speedo look...
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4