2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

AMG is the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz. It does crazy stuff like shoving a 6.2-liter V-8 engine into a new C-Class, tweaking the suspension, adding its own spectacular seven-speed automatic gearbox and giving it a class-leading 451 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. The sort of thing that makes a BMW M3 look like a commuter car.

The new C-Class is a whole league up from its disappointing predecessor, so it provides a much better base for AMG to work its insane yet strangely logical magic. Each engine is hand-built by one technician, who then signs it. Every area of the car comes under the microscope for optimization.

It won’t be cheap, but it should be one hell of a ride.

UNDER THE HOOD

6.2-liter V-8 engine
451 horsepower at 6,100 rpm
443 pound-feet of torque at 5,000 rpm
0-60 mph: 4.3 seconds
Top speed: 155 mph (electronically limited)

WHEN?

Spring 2008

HOW MUCH?

TBA

OUR TAKE

Southern California is one of AMG’s biggest markets, so this should prove relatively popular. It’s wonderfully fast, with quite a taut chassis, but there’s still an element of luxury to help justify what will be a substantial sticker price.