Whether you like him or not, Jeremy Clarkson is a car guy that fancies some of the most insane cars ever built, with comfort often taking a backseat to butt-clenching POWWWEERRR. This Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series is no exception, and you can now buy it for way, way less than what Top Gear's ex-presenter paid.
This 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series is one of the rarest modern cars the German automaker has ever produced, with only 350 examples to ever be gifted to US shores. Its more-than-500 horsepower, 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 got the car from zero to 60 miles per hour in just over four seconds, which made it one of the quickest cars Mercedes has ever built. It's also one of Sun contributor Jeremy Clarkson's favorite cars....in the world. So much so, in fact, that he bought one of his very own, compromising his sanity and the rigidity of his spine on every commute.
At the time of writing, this well-sorted example has a high bid of just over $25,000, with the reserve not met, but I wager that it won't reach half of its original $140,000 MSRP by the time the bidding is over.
The car looks like it was taken care of quite well by its previous owners, and although the miles are a bit high for an outright exotic, a Mercedes with a fairly bulletproof naturally aspirated V8 isn't stretching its limits with 84,000 miles. With proper maintenance, it should go a long, long time without crapping its proverbial sheets. Here's an excerpt from the description:
All servicing done at the Mercedes dealership or specialist and up to date, The car spent the majority of its life in sunny southern Florida. Never been modified, raced or abused. Only 350 of these cars were made for the U.S Market. The monster, Naturally aspirated, V8 produces 507hp and 465 ftlb of torque. The car had a $140,000 sticker price when it was new. The car speaks for itself, you can tell immediately it was well cared for. Non-smoker and garage kept. Do not sleep on this one, its a very rare car. These things never come up, and they definitely do not come up at this price. No disappointments with this car, buy with confidence. This is a good one. The pics do not do this car justice, must be seen and driven to be appreciated. No major scratches / dents / stains, inspections welcome!!
Is it worth is for someone looking for a great car to, as Clarkson has said, "take a drive to figure things out?" Yes, it's the perfect car to go for a spirited cruise to clear your head, without necessarily clearing your bank account in the process. If I had the money, I'd give this rare Merc a chance to give me the thrills that we so desperately crave in life. I probably wouldn't punch anyone, though.
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.
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