EVO CLK63 AMG review

Deutsch · 05-13-2006, 12:14 AM

Excellent write up from probably the most honest auto journal out right now...

Quote:

Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG

Look behind the spokes and you'll spot another AMG mod: new front discs made from hard-wearing, fade-resisting composite material, combined with conventional cast-iron rotors at the rear. Side-skirts and a re-sculpted rear valance complete the visual makeover, while the thin sliver of spoiler on the bootlid manages to reduce rear lift by over 50 per cent. Four oval tailpipes are the finishing touches to a distinctive but discreet injection of AMG attitude.

The CLK 63's interior is a mirror of the exterior, sporting a raft of subtle but effective AMG cues, including new sill panels, aluminium trim and chrome strips. A bespoke AMG instrument cluster, complete with impressive 320km/h (199mph) speedo, provides a fitting reminder of the 63's performance potential, as do the palm-filling steering wheel, the satisfyingly chunky gearshift paddles, and the multi-adjustable sports seats, which provide decent lateral and lumbar support without looking like they belong in a racing car.

All very promising, but as ever with an AMG model, the best bit is when you fire it up. A meaty-sounding starter spins for no more than a second before the V8 punches into life and settles into a rock-solid idle. Slot the auto selector into 'D', squeeze the weighty throttle and you're away, woofling in the kind of mild-mannered style that makes AMG's so useable on a daily basis.

Driven gently it's easy to wonder what's so special about the 63. The steering is encouragingly weighted, but you don't sense there's a huge amount of feel or detailed feedback, and the chassis suggests that it has had to trade involvement for containment, with the emphasis on muscle-bound damping and plenty of grip to keep the abundantly potent V8 in check.

As the miles pile on and the roads become more challenging, you begin to understand and appreciate the CLK's carefully crafted duality. When you switch the SpeedShift seven-speed transmission from 'C' (Comfort) to 'S' (Sport) and ultimately 'M' (Manual), the 63 deftly ups its game, the gearbox responding 30 per cent faster in S mode and 50 per cent quicker in M. The new paddles also feel much more direct than the old buttons, which never made you feel like you were truly connected to the car, and each gear hits home with a satisfying precision and immediacy.

Better still, when you select M mode you're taking full control of the transmission, so you can hang on to a gear and even clip the limiter without fear of the electronics popping in an upshift at just the wrong moment. Such is the free-revving nature of the V8 that it takes a few full-bore accelerative bursts before you get your upshift timing just so and avoid a staccato barrp-barrp-barrp of the rev-limiter. Once mastered, the gearbox is extremely effective. Not as punchy as a Ferrari or BMW sequential manual perhaps, especially on downshifts, but it's smoother in all situations and, now that you can hold a gear, it doesn't cramp your maximum-attack style either.

When you work some lateral load through the chassis it summons more feel and delivers a more detailed report from the front and rear contact patches. With ESP engaged, the CLK is steadfast and stable, but you know from the flickering warning light and the way the electronics constrain the power delivery that you're being denied that final tenth or two of pace and commitment. Normally when you disengage the ESP on an AMG model it is never truly off-duty, which makes for frustrating and often ill-timed intervention from the stability system. Not so in the CLK 63, for AMG has reappraised its approach to ESP, so that now when you thumb the switch, the system is truly off, at least until you panic brake, at which point it makes an educated guess that you've run out of talent and intervenes automatically.

That's not the end of the story, though, for thanks to the complexity of a modern Merc's safety systems, peeling away the ESP reveals the next layer of defence: electronic traction control. This safety net can't be folded up and packed away, and while it effectively snuffs out your wildest D1-style drift fantasies, it also means you can drive the CLK to the very edge of adhesion, and sometimes beyond. It's a subtler censor than the ESP system, and is incredibly flattering, smoothing and massaging the rough edges from your throttle play while at the same time maximising the amount of muscle hitting the tarmac. It does permit some oversteer, but rarely enough to warrant a correction, and though this can prove frustrating at times, satisfaction can be had from retracing your steps and revelling in the crisp pair of black lines, complete with tread pattern, that scribes each corner from turn-in to exit. Be in no doubt, the CLK wrings every last drop of grip from all four of its tyres.

Those composite brakes are more than up to the task of hauling the CLK down from serious speeds between corners, and they remain consistently strong, and silent, no matter what you subject them to. Pedal feel isn't a strong point, and there's some dead travel to push through before you feel them bite with conviction, but they remain with you for the duration of your drive. BMW M Division take note.

A great drivers' car then? Well, yes and no. Immensely fast, brilliantly controlled and robustly built, the CLK 63 has plenty of engineering integrity and charisma. It also has that uniquely AMG absurdity, that sense of wonder at how they've managed to convince senior management that dropping a 6.3-litre V8 into an ostensibly mild-mannered coupe is a good idea. It also has fluidity, and a certain precision and deftness that you somehow don't expect to find in such an over-engined Mercedes. It's a car that offers way more than most people need most of the time. But we're not most people, and though tremendously well-sorted, sensationally rapid and day-to-day useable, at those times when you want a car to hit the highest of highs, the CLK just runs out of reach.

Words/Pictures: Richard Meaden/Gus Gregory

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Nicholai_AMG · 05-13-2006, 05:23 AM

Thanks for this great review!!!!

I think we have a winner here and the 7G is in its better form with the new v8 ! kudos to AMG!

Specialy when I read this :

Quote:

The new paddles also feel much more direct than the old buttons, which never made you feel like you were truly connected to the car, and each gear hits home with a satisfying precision and immediacy.

Better still, when you select M mode you're taking full control of the transmission, so you can hang on to a gear and even clip the limiter without fear of the electronics popping in an upshift at just the wrong moment. Such is the free-revving nature of the V8 that it takes a few full-bore accelerative bursts before you get your upshift timing just so and avoid a staccato barrp-barrp-barrp of the rev-limiter. Once mastered, the gearbox is extremely effective. Not as punchy as a Ferrari or BMW sequential manual perhaps, especially on downshifts, but it's smoother in all situations and, now that you can hold a gear, it doesn't cramp your maximum-attack style either.

The Artist · 05-13-2006, 05:41 AM

very cool review.. i think AMG got it right with this one

PS
Big up to EVO.. they are the best.. and they love zondas to...

MoSs AMG · 05-13-2006, 05:47 AM

nice review, very informative.

I WANT A CLK 63 coupe

it sux that we r not getting any here in the US

Zonda · 05-13-2006, 06:39 AM

As said, EVO rules and the CLK 63 is just great. Great avatar Moss

Alx · 05-13-2006, 09:52 AM

Totally impressive car, great write up as said... Seems like they really got it right this time around!!!

bum-man · 05-13-2006, 02:19 PM

Mercedes build the F1 safety CLK!!

ALI · 05-13-2006, 05:45 PM

No times ?? No dialog details on performance ,,,, this remains a mistery...

GTA8.5 · 05-13-2006, 10:34 PM

Nice review, the CLK63 gets the nod on build quality, control and power.
Involvement? thats quite typical. This car still gets my vote.

Deutsch · 05-13-2006, 10:45 PM

you'd think they would have used more CLK DTM bits for the new car, but no, they had to appease the Paris Hiltons of the world.

05-13-2006, 05:41 AM	#3
The Artist Expert Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Sweden Gothenburg Posts: 13,186 Thanks: 257 Thanked 1,235 Times in 678 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review very cool review.. i think AMG got it right with this one PS Big up to EVO.. they are the best.. and they love zondas to...

05-13-2006, 05:47 AM	#4
MoSs AMG Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bell California , USA Posts: 1,452 Thanks: 164 Thanked 91 Times in 56 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review nice review, very informative. I WANT A CLK 63 coupe it sux that we r not getting any here in the US

05-13-2006, 06:39 AM	#5
Zonda Aficionado Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: La Svezia! Posts: 4,707 Thanks: 831 Thanked 809 Times in 461 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review As said, EVO rules and the CLK 63 is just great. Great avatar Moss

05-13-2006, 09:52 AM	#6
Alx Connoisseur Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: --Poconos, PA.-- 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Posts: 6,012 Thanks: 1,243 Thanked 662 Times in 316 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review Totally impressive car, great write up as said... Seems like they really got it right this time around!!!

05-13-2006, 02:19 PM	#7
bum-man Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,896 Thanks: 104 Thanked 129 Times in 92 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review Mercedes build the F1 safety CLK!!

05-13-2006, 05:45 PM	#8
ALI Advocate Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bell CALIFORNIA Posts: 633 Thanks: 40 Thanked 43 Times in 20 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review No times ?? No dialog details on performance ,,,, this remains a mistery...

05-13-2006, 10:34 PM	#9
GTA8.5 Devotee Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Kansas City, USA. Posts: 2,912 Thanks: 116 Thanked 153 Times in 113 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review Nice review, the CLK63 gets the nod on build quality, control and power. Involvement? thats quite typical. This car still gets my vote.

05-13-2006, 10:45 PM	#10
Deutsch Connoisseur Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: L.A. Posts: 5,766 Thanks: 492 Thanked 673 Times in 318 Posts	Re: EVO CLK63 AMG review you'd think they would have used more CLK DTM bits for the new car, but no, they had to appease the Paris Hiltons of the world.

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