150mph21.6s
140mph17.7s
130mph15.2s
120mph13.0s
110mph11.1s
30mph 40 50 60mph 70mph 80mph 90mph 100mph2.1s 2.8s3.4s 4.3s 5.3s 6.5s 7.8s 9.2s
0 10s 20s7.9 m 22.1m 43.7m
30mph-0 50mph-0 70mph-00 10m 20m 30m 40m150mph20.6s
140mph17.2s
130mph14.5s
120mph12.2s
110mph10.4s
30mph 40 50 60mph 70mph 80mph 90mph 100mph1.9s 2.6s 3.3s 4.1s 5.1s 6.2s 7.4s 8.8s
0 10s 20sStart/finish
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
Start/finish
T1
T2T4
T3
T5
T6T7
T8
30mph-0 50mph-0 70mph-08.3m 23.2m 45.2m
0 10m 20m 30m 40mTra ck n otes
ROAD TEST
24 APRIL 2 019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 39
But there’s another side to this
car beyond raw pace. On most
British roads, our advice would be
to set the dampers to Comfort, or
possibly Sport, and f lick the new
torque-vectoring AMG Dynamics
programme into its most aggressive
setting, Master. Even with the ESP
switched off and the nine-stage
traction control skewed towards
leniency, the C63 S rarely comes
across as anything other than a car
that wants to entertain its driver
rather than scare them.
Taken up a notch, its electronic
differential further bolsters the silky
rear-driven balance, and tight but
newly f luid vertical control sets the
stage for you to tease and experiment
with the tail. This is a wickedly
fast and playful car that underpins
its ability with a wellspring of
c on f ide nc e at a l l s t a ge s of a c or ne r,
which is a trick the outgoing BMW
M4 never quite managed.
COMFORT AND ISOLATION
AAABC
Historically, luxury and refinement
h av e a l w ay s b e e n pi v ot a l , i f
somewhat ancillary, elements of
AMG experience. Today’s C63 S
might not tout such liberal levels
of w o o de n t r i m , or s uc h pi l low y
suspension, but owners will expecttheir car to make a neat stand-in for
out-and-out GT duties in the event of
longer, possibly continental drives.
It ’s a n a r e a i n w h ic h A MG h a s
made subtle improvements for
t h i s f a c e l i f t e d mo de l , e v e n i f t he
W205 C-Class AMG remains a
fundamentally stiff car. Long-range
comfort is more than acceptable,
and although the physical pitter-
pat t e r of r ou g he r s u r f a c e s i s l a r ge l y
i ne s c apa ble , i n C om for t mo de it
reduces to a reasonable level thanks
to the inherent ‘togetherness’ this
chassis conjures at speed.
In fact, speed generally improves
the ride quality, and the suspension’s
ability to gently but confidently
absorb longer-wave inputs without
surrendering to f loat elicits its own
brand of performance-oriented
comfort. Town driving and low-speed
manoeuvring can send pronounced
shocks through the struts, though
you’d expect as much in any car of
this type, and those who routinely
struggle to exceed second gearshould question their motivations
for buying a C63 S at all.
However, massive contact patches
at e a c h c or ne r m a k e for c on side r a ble
tyre roar, which has an attritional
effect on longer journeys. You might
argue this comes with the territory,
but at a steady 70mph the newer
Audi RS4 tripped our testing
microphones a full five decibels
quieter than the Mercedes, which
goes to show standards for this type
of car have improved.
BUYING AND OWNING
AAABC
The C63 S’s 503bhp V8 likes a drink.
Its 6.4mpg track economy figure is a
fairly heroic effort, but its 26mpg test
average is more representative. At a
s t e a d y 70 mph , it m a n a ge d 3 4. 2 mp g,
equating to a range of 497 miles.
At £78,023 before options, theC63 S Coupé costs quite a bit more
than both the M4 Competition Pack
(£62,580) and Giulia Quadrifoglio
(£63 , 5 4 0). W it h c a rb on- c e r a m ic
brakes (£4285), AMG GT R-style
alloys (£2395), AMG Aerodynamics
Pack (£1260) and a few more extras,
our test car came in at £92,223.
Mercs generally resist depreciation,
so it was a surprise to find the C63 S
isn’t expected to hold its value as well
as the Alfa. After 36,000 miles and
three years, it’s predicted to retain
46% of its original price to the Alfa’s
50% and the BMW’s 43%. ◊
A high-powered AMG coupé of
old might have fallen to pieces
against the stopwatch, but while
the automatic gearbox in the C63 S
remains a touch ponderous for circuit
driving, the car impresses overall.
Mercedes’ carbon-ceramic brakes
resist wilting lap after lap and inspire
confidence with their consistency and
power. Michelin’s road-biased Pilot
Super Sport tyres also bite keenly,
although they were past their best
after five or six laps.The aggressive electronic diff helps
create massive traction – so much so
that short of violently prodding the
throttle, good mid-corner balance
eventually gives way to numbing
understeer. The system is also hugely
effective though slow, tight corners,
allowing for slingshot acceleration
in the dry. And while the car’s raised
centre of gravity is detectable
compared with sports cars such as
the Porsche 911, body movements are
generally neatly controlled, resulting
in a very competitive lap time.
DRY CIRCUIT
Mercedes-AMG
C63 S Coupé
1min 13.8sec
BMW M4 (2014,
23deg C, dry)
1min 12.5sec
z Car’s inclination is to at first understeer
on this ultra-low-friction surface, with
a quick transition to oversteer. There’s
balance to spare, but care is required.
z C63 S reveals its hot-rod nature down
this soaking straight after T8, dramatically
struggling for traction in every gear.
z Electronic differential ensures almost no power goes to
waste in T6 if you’re careful with the throttle. This corner is
a great test of raw traction, and the C63 S performs well.z Car sheds huge speed with stability and minimal drama into T3 but
requires subsequent delicacy to coax into this tight but quick corner.
WET CIRCUIT
Mercedes-AMG
C63 S Coupé
1min 10.6sec
BMW M4 (2014,
23deg C, dry)
1min 25.7sec
ACCELERATION
B M W M 4 (2 3 d e g C , d r y)
Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupé 2019 (14deg C, damp)
BRAKING 60-0mph: 2.69sec
B M W M 4 (2 3 d e g C , d r y)
Standing quarter mile 12.3sec at 120.9mph, standing km 21.9sec at 155.3mph, 30-70mph 3.1sec, 30-70mph in fourth 5.4sec
M e r c e d e s-A M G C 6 3 S C o u p é 20 19 (1 4 d e g C , d a m p)
Standing quarter mile 12.6sec at 118.1mph, standing km 22.3sec at 152.3mph, 30-70mph 3.2sec, 30-70mph in fourth 4,7sec