surpriseofallthecarshere,andit’stheperfectantidoteif you
findthe 911 a littlesterile.
TheMercedes-AMGC63S coupeis,at1800kg,theheaviest
carhereandit canneverquiteovercometheimpostofthose
kegs.ItsrearseatsaremoreuseablethanthoseinthePorsche,
soit earnsa hallpassinsomeregards,butit alwaysfeels
exactlywhatit is inthecompanyofthesespecialists;namely
thecoupeversionofa mainstreamsedan.We’rehugefans
oftheC63,butinthisextremecompany,itssteeringis more
remote,itstransmissiontardier,thesharpedgesseemingly
chamferedoffitsdynamicresponses.Yettheseostensible
criticismsmorphintoassetsif whatyou’relookingforis a
vehiclethat’smoreliveableandnotaschallengingasthe911.
Andwedon’tmeanchallengingasthemodernmealy-mouthed
euphemismfordifficult,butchallengingasindeliveringan
expectationthatyouraiseyourgame.The 911 goadsyou
likethat.Itssteeplingtalentscanleaveyoufeelinga little
unworthy.TheMercedes-AMG,bycontrast,justwantsyouto
havefun,howeverhamfistedyoumaybe.
Thedrivingpositionis a smidgetoohighandyoulookout
acrossanexpensivewheelfestoonedwithbuttons,touchpads,
rotarydialsandtinydigitalscreensdanglingfromthespokes.
ThehalfcarbonandhalfAlcantararimis fatwithbig,metal
shiftpaddlestuckedbehind.Thecabinis glitzybutneverless
thananevent,thelatteralsoapplyingtohowtheMercedes-
AMGtacklesa challengingroad.
With700Nmunderfootanda torquecurvethatlookslike
theflightdeckoftheUSSNimitz, it’seasytoconcludethatthe
mightytwin-turboV8is goingtobethedominantelement.Andyou’dbemostlyright.Despitethemonster20-inchPilotSuper
Sportsattheback,theC63S strugglestomarshalallthat
prodigioustorque,thetraction-controllightblinkingitsway
intothreefigures.QuitewhyAMGdecidedthatthe520Nm
C43wouldbeimprovedwithall-wheeldrivebutnotthehirsute
C63is aninterestingdecision.However,theneedforyoutobe
themasterofhowthatmassivefirepoweris deployedis also
keytotheC63’sengagement,andcentraltohowit provides
optionsofangles.Keepit tidy,quickandprogressive,orchase
thethrottleearlyandfeelit lightupandstormout.All-wheel
drivewouldmakeit faster,butalmostcertainlylessofanevent.
Tractionis rarelyanissueforthe 718 Cayman.True,its
380Nmis almostonparwithanoriginal 911 GT3RSbut
there’sa quietauthoritytothewayitsgravelly2.0-litreflat-
fourdeploysthoseNewtonmetres.Comparedtothehistrionics
oftheAMG,it justdigsinandpowersout.Theengine
possessesnomusicalityandthesportsexhaustintroducesan
atonalthrobatidle,butit’scertainlygame.Whilethefour-pot
turbohassomevocaldetractors,I’llnailmycoloursonnow.
Thisis a betterenginethanthesix-cylinder2.7inthe 981
Cayman.Faster,cleanerandmoremalleableinitsresponses,
it maylackthesix’sbreathyoverlay,butit’slongonsubstance.
Whisperit,butit mightjustbea moresatisfyingthingthan
the2.5-litreintheCaymanS.
A manualgearboxwouldonlyexacerbatetheaural
shortcomingsofthe718,butthePDKsuitsit perfectly.The
transmissionrarelytriestowringnon-existenttopnotesfrom
theupperregistersandinsteadminestherichseamoftorque
from2000rpm.ThePDK-equipped 718 makespeaktorqueHugetractionandevenbiggernoise
definetheageingbutstillepictop-
specF-Type.It’sa properBritballerBRUTALLY QUICK F-TYPE SVR IS THE PERFECT
ANTIDOTE IF YOU FIND THE 911 A LITTLE STERILE
96 whichcar.com.au/wheels
COMPARISON /
911
GROUP
TEST