We got our first glance at the 2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe yesterday. Now the company’s confirmed power, weight, and acceleration specs for both the Coupe and even-meaner S Coupe. They also shot some spectacular photos of the thing on track. It sure is one sexy looking Honda Accord. A 503 horsepower Honda Accord!
I could describe it, but here’s a helpful chart instead:
| Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe | Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe | |
| Displacement | 3982 cc | 3982 cc |
| Output | 469 hp at 5500-6250 rpm | 503 hp at 5500-6250 rpm |
| Peak torque | 479 lb-ft at 1750-4500 rpm | 516 lb-ft at 1750-4500 rpm |
| Weight ready-to-drive | 3,770 lbs | 3,803 lbs |
| 0-60 MPH | 3.9 seconds | 3.8 seconds |
| Electronically Limited Top speed | 155 MPH | 180 MPH |
For comparison, you may recall that the basic BMW M4 has a 3.0-liter turbo six. Mercedes obviously went way bigger with a two-turbo’d V8 which I’m sure sounds like sex straight out of a hot steel tube. That’s essentially the same engine you’d get in a C63 sedan or AMG GT sports car, and AMG does know how to make an entrance with an exhaust note.
Though the overall output doesn’t seem that much higher than the M4’s, and the Benz is only 0.2 seconds faster to 60 MPH.
Smooth silver buttons, tight leather... as you can see the interior is straight retrofuturefantastic. Plus a big dumb iPad slapped on top of the vents. Couldn’t make that retractable, huh guys?
Besides a big honking engine the C63 has all the usual AMG trimmings; adjustable suspension, limited slip rear differential... impressive sounding “dynamic engine mounts.”
The car’s wider than a standard C-Class of course; 2.51” up front and 2.59” in the rear, to give the car a fighting stance and of course make it look more badass. And oh yeah; fit tires that are up to 10” wide in the front and as fat as 11.2” on the rears. Holy moly, you could pave your own damn roads with those steamrollers.
The hood’s a few inches longer than the plebeian C-Class too, and gets some cute speed bumps Mercedes calls “powerdomes.”
A seven-speed transmission is standard, along with selectable profiles for how aggressively the vehicle behaves. The S Coupe gets a “Race” setting for a super-stiff experience, and a “loud button” for the exhaust is optional across the board.
As beautiful as this car is, and these pictures really do make me feel feelings, the more extreme Mercedes-AMG cars get the less sense they seem to make. Even if the engine’s expertly tuned, and the transmission’s dialed in with race engineering, the average owner is just getting a luxury car that’s a little more annoying to use.
I’m sure that four-second zero to 60 MPH time is really great for getting you stuck behind a Prius going 54 MPH in the left lane even sooner, but the stiff suspension is going to suck every time you have to drive over painted lines.
“Race” mode? The only time this car’s going to get “raced” is when the owner’s badly behaved son takes it out for a spin and mashes the gas off a stoplight to show up Biff. Why is it that slow people buy fast cars?
Seems like it would make a lot more sense to buy a nice luxury car, a dedicated racing car, and a decent truck or SUV to tow it with whatever this is going to end up costing.
Ah, what do I know. I drive a dolled-up Honda Accord. Maybe everybody who buys the C63 AMG and especially the C63 AMG S will extract every ounce of performance from it and definitely not just get it because it’s the most expensive C-Class variant.
Joking aside, it really is a pretty car. Almost like they took the original CLS “coupe” sedan and realized that shape would actually look awesome as a two-door.
Images via Mercedes-Benz
Contact the author at andrew@jalopnik.com.