AMERICAN muscle car philosophy contains two major edicts that are sacrosanct: one, “there ain’t no substitute for cubic inches”, and two, “too much is never enough”. Now whether or not Mercedes-Benz’s US partner Chrysler – once at the forefront of such matters – has had any influence on the Stuttgart engineers in this regard we will likely never know, but M-B’s already muscle-rippling performance arm, AMG, appears to have recently undergone a massive injection of testosterone…
To wit, a home-grown, all-alloy naturally-aspirated, quad-cam, 24-valve V8 displacing 6 208 cm3 punching out no less than 354 kW at a heady 6 800 r/min, and a whopping 630 N.m of torque at 5 000, which equates to a specific torque output of 101 N.m/litre, a three-figure benchmark few production engines, V8 or otherwise, achieve. Low friction cylinder bores, vertical intake and exhaust ports, a variable intake manifold, continuously variable inlet and exhaust cam timing, bucket tappets, a high 11,3:1 compression ratio, and fuel injection pressurised between 3,8 and 5,0 bar, all contribute towards what is a very sophisticated engine.
Accept that there are moral limits to what you can squeeze such a motive force into for general use by the motoring public, and you will appreciate that M-B’s CLK Coupé is probably as compact a recipient as you can reasonably expect. Even so, the prospect of administering all that energy is enough to task even the most experienced of engineers – especially for a road car – but the boffins at AMG seem to have risen to the task. Well, kind of…
This is one brutal machine. Turn out of a side junction into a main road with anything more than a gossamer touch on the accelerator, and the traction control light will wink its active presence. It is that powerful. Snuffling and wuffling your way through traffic, the presence of that massive powerhouse up front is always apparent. If you are really into burnouts, then this is as good as it gets, despite the gluey grip afforded by the 18-inch Pirellis (225/40s up front, 255/35s behind). For our test team, though, trying to get the CLK off the mark with just the right amount of controlled wheelspin proved to be a frustratingly sensitive undertaking: our best run, achieved by pulling away as “normally” as possible with the transmission in straightforward auto mode, resulted in 0-100 km/h in 5,07 seconds. Mercedes claims 4,6 seconds, but that would have been achieved in a dedicated test environment, rather than the “real world” conditions our regular twoman team operate in.
But, hey, come on, shifting 1,8 tons of metal from standstill to the metric ton in a fraction over five seconds is not to be scoffed at. And what follows certainly deserves respect: the kilometre marker was reached in 22,86 seconds at a terminal speed of 245 km/h. THAT takes some beating. What is more, stamp on the throttle at 60 km/h, and in 3,64 seconds you will have reached the national limit. Look at the second hand of your watch, and think about it… Top speed is limited to 250 km/h, achieved in the fifth of the seven ratios provided in the transmission (the car is geared for 440 km/h in top!), which offers paddles as well as the regular console auto stick.
With 55 per cent of the car’s mass on the front wheels, some understeer is to be expected, but is easily countered by an experienced application of throttle to bring on power oversteer: any amount, any time. Visit to the boondocks, anyone? This car is not to be trifled with.
GO is one thing, but what about STOP? Huge, ventilated composite discs up front, with conventional ventilated rotors behind, reined-in the CLK in an impressive 2,92-second average during our 10-stop 100-0 km/h test routine.
Test summary
Despite all of the to-be-expected Mercedes appointments, this car is all about its engine. That it comes wrapped in an impressive coupé package should not be discounted, of course, but at a relatively reasonable R769 000, the CLK63 AMG qualifies for that oftquoted, and somewhat crude, accolade, “the biggest bang for the buck”. Practically, the car is arguably too powerful, and you need to be somewhat of a power freak to seriously consider this car as daily transport. But if you have the balls and the bank balance to indulge in what is a superbly engineered, premiumbadged hot rod, then go for it. Smoke ’em…