What's all this about?
OK, so Mercedes-AMG has already - in a two-stage reveal - told us about the updated C 43 Saloon and Estate, and then Coupe and Cabriolet models. So that's four of its 12 go-faster C-Class variants dealt with. Time to deal with the big boys.
The C 63 and C 63 S?
Oh yes. And Mercedes-AMG isn't messing about, this time: all eight cars are included here.
Eight?
Keep up, there. You've got four body styles - Saloon, Estate, Coupe and Cabriolet - and then two power outputs. You've already mentioned those yourself; 476hp and 650Nm for the C 63, and then 510hp and 700Nm for the C 63 S, from the same 4.0-litre V8 biturbo petrol as before. Four (bodies) times two (outputs) equals eight (mentally fast V8 AMGs).
OK, so the power hasn't changed?
No, and nor has much of the hardware. In fact, overall it's quite a modest array of updates, mainly because all models of C 63/S were bloody brilliant anyway. Visually, new horizontal fins in the outer air inlets of the A-wing airdam can be spied, while aerodynamically optimised alloy wheels (18-inch items as standard on the C 63, 19s on the C 63 S but optional on the 476hp cars) in Tantalite Grey reside in the blistered arches. At the back, the diffuser design has changed to be 'more expressive' on all cars, although the S variants also get a diffuser board that makes them look ever meaner. The diffuser change means a slight remodelling of the high-gloss chrome finishers for the quad exhausts, too.
And inside?
A new steering wheel with Touch Control pads (like the E-Class), some new colour lines for the Artico and Dinamica upholstery, a few open-pore wood trims and aluminium finishers for various bits of the interior dressing, and climate-controlled AMG Performance seats are the fresh highlights.
OK, so there's no more power - has Mercedes-AMG left the C 63 family's chassis set-ups alone?
No, there are some updates here. The mechanical limited-slip differential (LSD) that used to be found on the 476hp C 63 variants is dispensed with, to be replaced by the more sophisticated electronically-controlled LSD that continues on the C 63 S as well. This means all cars have a two-tier driving mode arrangement. First of all, there are your main driving modes, which are Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Race and Individual; and then there's a more specific setting storage system called AMG Dynamics, featuring Basic, Advanced, Pro and Master. All these mean you should never be stuck for a set-up to suit whatever road (or race track) is unfurling in front of you, nor what the weather outside is doing.
Is that it?
Not quite. The AMG Ride Control steel springs and adaptive dampers have been tweaked for more responsiveness, while there's a little bit of good news for Autobahn stormers. On the face of it, the performance stats all look the same as before: the fastest model, the C 63 S Coupe, runs 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and the... well, the slowest (hardly the appropriate term, but still...) pair of the C 63 Estate and Cabriolet take 4.2 seconds to do the same sprint. All C 63 models are limited to 155mph, as ever. But the C 63 S models aren't any more.
Aren't they?
No. Presumably noticing that all 12 of its fastest C-Class variants were, unless owners ticked the AMG Driver's Package, capable of hitting the same 155mph limiter - meaning it didn't really matter if you had 367- or 510hp - Mercedes-AMG has decided to put clear air between the C 63 S quartet and the rest of the AMG Cs. So the 510hp iterations of the Estate and Cabriolet have a 174mph electronic limiter now, while the Saloon and Coupe models go further still; not until 180mph is showing on the speedo will the car's software cut in to halt the fun.
Matt Robinson - 27 Mar 2018