C63 AMG Edition 507: Not Quite A Black Series, Hence It's Grey

Pictured: 1521 horsepower.

Tyres beware. There's a new AMG out. Three of them, actually, although they're all the same when you disregard their bodies. It's called the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507, and by reading its full name you've just read how much horsepower it has. Yup, that's right, it has 63 horsepower. Not.

The POWERRRRRRRR comes from the usual "6.3 AMG" engine - famous for actually being a 6.2 - but it makes 20bhp more than the version of the AMG version of the C-Class that in turn makes 30bhp more than the AMG version of the C-Class, called the C63 AMG AMG Performance Package. Got that? Nope? I'll stop being fatuous and spell it out then: First the C63 AMG makes 457bhp. Then adding the AMG Performance Package adds 30bhp to make 487. Now there's this, which makes 507 and replaces the Perf' Pack.

Where did they find another 20 horses? In the Secret Shed, that's where. You see, if you want a Very-AMG version then you have to wait patiently with a cheque for Really A Lot Of Money while the Black Series team - a performance division of Mercedes-Benz's performance division - takes an AMG and make it literally mental. They did this a year ago with this very car to make the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupé Black Series, a car with a mouthful of a name and gobs of power to spew all over the rear tyres until they either pulled themselves from the rims in protest or embraced the sweet release of death. Fitting that it looked like a monster from a children's book, really, because to drive it was literally mental. However, the thing about a Black Series car is that they only unleash a small-ish number of them on the world, and all 800 of them have been sold to unsuspecting victims. So what if you can't find one but want a 507bhp version of that awesome V8? Enter the Edition 507, with its Black Series engine in the normal AMG body. Well, normal aside from the bonnet nostrils required to keep that beast alive for longer, no matter how angry it gets.

With its forged pistons, SLS crankshaft and improved conrods, the growling V8 also makes 450lb/ft of torque and is a whopping three kilograms lighter than before. As a tribute to its black origins, you get more black than a black hole's shadow, with the grille surrounds, door mirror casings, wheels (aside from the rims), front spoiler, boot spoiler, "designo" leather and alcantara all painted black, as well as the optional (black) carbon fibre or Piano Black interior trim, and a black AMG side stripe that's black. Even the headlights are black! But not when they're on, obviously...

Speaking of optional extras, a locking differential - essential in a car like this and standard on the full-on Black Series - is something you have to pay extra for, along with improved suspension to cope with the extra, er, 20 horsepower. Sounds like some sneaky business dreamt up by the accountants to me. Or perhaps it's to keep a slight gap between this regular version and the Black Series, which to be fair is also distanced from the Edition 507 by the absence of rear seats, presence of bucket front seats, weight loss and a rollcage, along with that mad bodykit. Perhaps this is meant as a Black Series that's less of a cartoonish pretend track weapon and more of a road-biased car for people who aren't Jeremy Clarkson. Actually, that's an ironic name choice, because an equally-powerful C63 that rides properly is something he would really like. In fact that sounds like something many people would like, especially as it's also available as a four-door saloon or even an estate, which is just plain awesome. You could put orange lights on it and be an F1 Medical Car! Or use it to feed your unbridled hatred of tyres and let the 6.2-litre V8 loose on those two 19" black rear wheels. Because to an AMG engine, tyres are the enemy. Tyres are the great censors of fury. They try to harness and control the engine. Tyres are EVIL and THEY MUST DIE.

Of course, if you don't want to die as well, there's always the traction control systems to play with. Tyres are an old enemy the engine knows well, but computers? It can only do so much. They're next...

Interested in one of the great German muscle cars of our time? We will probably learn of the prices at the Geneva Motor Show in March, where it will be officially unveiled by Germans going "here is ze new C63 AMG with 20 more horsepower, some black paint and a side stripe. It's yours for €10,000 more zhan ze normal price." You should also know that the Designo Magno Platinum paint finish - or satin silver to humans - is an optional extra as well.

But what else is it? The last new model to use this almighty engine that sounds like a NASCAR in a thunderstorm? Well, technically it was announced after the literally mental SLS Black Series and all new AMG models are now getting the downsized 5.5-litre BiTurbo engine instead, so it might just be. So consider it a celebration of a time when it was socially acceptable to shoehorn a huge naturally-aspirated V8 into an executive car and give it flared wheel arches and four exhaust pipes. Perhaps it's also nice that the final year of V8 Formula 1 cars coincides with it (or depending on your outlook, sad that the word 'final' applies to either of these things), and speaking of which, this is a nice little distraction from the fact that we won't see the F1 W04 until Monday the 4th. This has been your break from reading F1 posts on SBV8.

Why call a 6208cc engine a 6.3? In reference to the very first AMG car, the legendary "Red Sow".

Technical Specnicals:

Layout: Front-Engined, Rear-Wheel-Drive

Engine: 6208cc V8, Naturally Aspirated, 7-speed automatic gearbox with paddles

Power/Torque/CO2: 507bhp / 450lb/ft / 319g/km

Weight: 1727kg / 1777kg / 1792kg (Coupé / Saloon / Estate)

Acceleration: 0-62mph in 4.2s (Coupé and Saloon, 4.3s for Estate)

Top Speed: 174mph (280km/h) - Limited

Price: TBC