A few weeks ago, I had a 2012 C63 AMG Coupe and I wrote a
very favorable review on this car and it was my favorite out of all the cars I
had driven… until last week.
The guys at eCarOne gave me a 2008 Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black
Series, and in case you’re wondering what “Black Series” means, it’s the same
concept as the RS3 version of the Porsche 911, the Competition M3, or the Scuderia
Ferrari. Basically, it’s a CLK63 on
massive amounts of testosterone. They
take an already awesome CLK63, remove the rear seat, stiffen the suspension
& chassis, widen the fenders, increase tire size, free up the engine and
get a little more power, and relax the traction control a bit. And of course, they give it the special
badging and even more special interior (sports seats, suede, and
aluminum/carbon fiber trim). All this
makes the car very unique and even more so, they don’t mass-produce this one
like the rest of the lineup. It’s made
in limited numbers and I know it will be a collectible some day.
I’m guessing that judging from the above you get the idea
that I liked this car…. Well, I really enjoyed it for what it is; a pure race
car for the street. However, is it an
everyday car? I can tell you for sure
that it’s not a car I can drive daily and I’m stressing “I” because for my
specific needs I can’t have a two seat coupe, however; let’s compare it to say
a Ferrari 430, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche RS3, or perhaps an Aston Martin Vantage. All these cars I would place in the same
category as the Black Series CLK63… they are all exotic supercars and although
Mercedes is more known for making practical cars that go very fast, this one I
would have to place in a different category altogether.
So, who is the CLK63 Black Series made for? In my opinion it's for those out there that want supercar performance but would rather
not be noticed. The CLK Black Series is
made for those who want race track performance on the street without the exotic
stereotype and without the exotic price tag and ongoing cost of maintenance and
repair.
Let’s take a look at the previous conjecture for a
minute. This CLK is priced at roughly
$70,000 which is about half of its MSRP.
It is a monster on the street and I’ll wager that this car can take on many exotics on the track.
Now let’s see what these exotics would cost or better yet, let’s see
what you can get for $70k. You can get a
10-year-old Ferrari F355 or a similar age Lambo. You could get a lightly used Aston Martin or
Porsche 911 Twin Turbo. Of all those
cars, I would put the Porsche TT head to head with the CLK and in my book the
CLK63 wins for several reasons…. It’s way more rare, way more collectible, cost
less to operate, and is not driven by people who have too much money. I’m sorry if this statement offends anyone
but go to any affluent city and you’ll see men and women driving these 500+ HP
Porsches who have no idea what these cars can do. On the other hand, I challenge anyone to find
me someone driving a Black Series CLK63 who doesn’t know exactly what he or she
is driving.
I never thought I’d say this but if I'm looking for all out performance, I would take this Benz over a comparably priced Ferrari any day. I would even venture to say it's a bargain!
Thank you for reading and happy driving.
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