Mercedes car
Mercedes
New Mercedes Car
Mercedes
Mercedes carsMercedes-Benz is showing the production version of the 2012 C63 AMG coupe it plans to begin selling in the U.S. in September. By adding a two-door version of its souped-up small C Class car, the German car maker is trying to keep pace with rivals including Audi, BMW and Cadillac, all of which offer fast, flashy, overpowered coupes.
The new Benz also reflects a gradual comeback across the auto industry for two-door models that haven’t been very popular since the 1960s and 1970s, when they were known as personal cars.
Aimed largely at performance-obsessed single people and the midlife-crisis set, coupes like the C63, Audi S5 and Cadillac CTS-V Coupe try to make up for their lack of practicality with sleek, provocative styling that four-door sedans can’t match.
The new C63 coupe uses the same 6.3-liter engine as the much larger CL63 AMG and CLS63 AMG. The eight-cylinder power plant puts out 451 horsepower in standard trim and 481 horses if you order an option called the AMG development package. The package includes forged pistons and connecting rods, and a lightweight crankshaft like the one used in the company’s exotic SLS sports car.
The special parts save 6.6 pounds, make the engine more responsive and allow it to rev higher than the standard version. The extra power cuts the car’s zero-to-60 mph acceleration time to 4.3 seconds from 4.4 and boosts top speed to 174 mph from 155 mph for the standard AMG version. In both cases the car’s top speed is electronically limited.
The C63 is scheduled to make its world debut at next month’s New York auto show. Lower-powered C250 and C350 versions of the coupe will also go on sale in September. Mercedes says it expects to release pricing for the coupes in August.
