Well, it was no big secret (not after some tell-tales spilled the beans facing the Germans’ wrath) that Mercedes-Benz was planning to unveil the Black Series edition of its C63 AMG Coupe during the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.
Now the company has gone ahead as planned and revealed the C63 AMG Coupe’s hardcore sibling, the C63 AMG Coupe Black Series. The most potent version of the C-Class Coupe does not stray away from the successful formula of the models that carried the Black Series tag before it. The Black Series is powered by the "regular" C63 Coupe's naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 but thanks to AMG’s modifications that include forged pistons, conrods and crankshaft, a 50% bigger oil cooler and a new ECU, it churns out 517HP (60HP more than the standard model) and, more importantly, 620 Nm (457 lb-ft)of tarmac-tearing torque.
All this power is channeled to the 19-inch rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch AMG Speedshift transmission. The gearbox has four modes and its fastest gear change time, in Sport or Manual, is just 100 milliseconds. Performance is, of course, exceptional: the C63 AMG Black Series accelerates from a standstill to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 4.2 seconds.
The C63 AMG Coupe Black Series has a standard limited-slip differential. The novelty is that it’s electronically controlled and linked to the ESP stability control system, which itself has three settings, and unusually for a Mercedes, in its sportiest one is completely deactivated.
AMG’s engineers widened the front and rear tracks by 40 mm and 70 mm respectively, and also fitted stiffer anti-roll bars along with an adjustable coil-over sports suspension. The braking system comprises of 390 mm front and 360 mm rear discs, with six and four-piston calipers respectively.
Visually, the newest member of the Black Series clan gains a different front bumper with huge air intakes, bloated wheel arches, chunkier side sills and a redesigned rear bumper with quad exhausts.
Inside, the C63 AMG Black Series comes with a two-seat configuration, though Mercedes does offers a four-seat layout as an option. The car also gets red seat belts, a sport steering wheel covered in nappa leather and high-gloss black piano inserts on the dashboard along with the Black Series logo.
Mercedes-Benz offers two optional packages with self-explanatory names: the Track package, which features special Dunlop tires and a differential cooler, and the Aerodynamic package with carbonfibre aerodynamic aids on the front bumper and a carbonfibre rear spoiler.
Sales of the new C6 AMG Coupe Black Series are expected to commence in January, with a starting price in Germany of €115,430 ($165,722).
On a side note, Mercedes-Benz also announced that former McLaren-Mercedes F1 driver David Coulthard is the AMG divisions new ambassador. The 40-year old Scot will aid the AMG development team in testing and also take part in customer and press events starting with the campaign for the new, 557HP V8 biturbo E63 AMG.
