Mercedes’ C63 Coupé revealed, can it get any more powerful?

Thought Thursday: Mercedes’ C63 Coupé will produce more power than all it’s competitors

What do car makers and dictators have in common? They all want absolute power, but in the words of Spiderman’s grandfather, “with great power comes great responsibility”. This is especially true for our German friends trying to one-up each other in the power game. As most car lovers will know, the new Mercedes C-Class Coupé was launched a few days ago. Now we have more information to reveal regarding the flagship power house of the lot, the C63 Coupé. We want to talk about the “S” version of this car specifically. The “normal” version of the C63 Coupé will feature ONLY 345kW and 650Nm whilst the “S” version will produce 370kW and 700Nm of torque.

Let’s talk about these figures for a moment. The power this car produces is less than what the last version of the brutal normally aspirated C63 507 Edition produced. The difference though is that despite it producing a kilowatt or two less, the delivery of that power is very different, due to turbocharging. Now that the new C63’s are running 4.0l turbocharged engines, the car goes from being very fast, to down right ludicrous. As any car lover will say, bring on the power, more is better and better is more. That being said, a part of me is a tad concerned about all of this. I recently read a statement made by a very experienced journalist regarding how these super saloons and coupé’s should do away with being rear wheeled drive as standard.

To most enthusiasts that statement may sound like a slap in the face, but in reality, it makes perfect sense. The reason being that because the new engines are turbocharged, the maximum torque delivery of these cars is almost instant. This is good and bad. Good for producing insane acceleration, but bad for those who cannot handle it. The reality is that most C63 Coupé owners will not be die hard enthusiasts, a great deal of them will be wealthy individuals who want the latest and greatest. For that clientèle, having 700Nm of torque available to you and traction control being a simple press of a button to switch off, can mean potential injury. The fact is that all that power can mean too much car for most and even the slightest bit of “fast” driving can create a dangerous situation.

If these cars were to be all-wheel drive as standard, as they have them in the US, the danger lessens. For those who regard themselves as enthusiasts, they should have the choice to deselect the all-wheel drive setup and opt for the rear wheel drive setup when specifying their car with their dealership. If this was the case, it would mean for a safer, more manageable car for those who aren’t interested in going sideways and simply want a very fast car. At the same time the deselect option will still keep the enthusiasts happy too. This may be a reality soon, as the rumblings of the new BMW M5 have started and talk is that the car will have the exact setup we’re discussing now. I think it’s a good thing, because even now with the current BMW M5, many will agree that a very specific skill-set is needed to drive that car on it’s limit with the traction control off.

We look forward to the new C63 Coupé hitting our shores in South Africa. For those looking to purchase one, if you have not gone for advanced driving yet, we strongly recommend you do so. This will ensure your safety behind the wheel and increase your joy in owning such a car, because what’s the point in having all that power if you can’t handle it? Happy Thought Thursday Motorists.