2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG: Beauty is a Beast

People are constantly telling me that the job I’ve been doing for 30 years is a dream job. No one seems to listen when I explain that automobile journalists spend infinitely more time in front of a computer screen than behind the wheel. So I grin, bear it, and try my best to answer any and all their questions about cars.

In this field, models are introduced at carefully orchestrated events. Launches take place all over the world, in locations that range from exotic to boring, from Monaco to Montebello. Usually, the place and route are chosen to highlight the car’s strengths.

The initial presentation is followed by a traditional test drive on familiar roads and highways. The details vary, but normally it involves everyday driving – the kind you do to go to the grocery store, school, office, and so on. Some assess performance, others don’t. With sportier models, we sometimes drive a few laps on a track, but not always.

Getting to know a car in three acts

Being able to both attend a launch and give the car a standard test drive is already very good, but I was able to take it one step further this year with the new versions of the Mercedes-Benz CLS – in particular with the fantastic CLS 63 AMG and its new 518-hp twin-turbo V8.

Act one: The North American premiere of this second-generation CLS took place in California. We left from San Francisco and headed north to Yountville in the Napa Valley.

Act two: This step involved filming the CLS 63 AMG test drive on the Sanair Circuit in mid-summer (watch it on this season’s Guide de l’auto television show on Canal Vox).

Act three: The traditional week-long test drive began with us evaluating performances then taking a 1,500 kilometre ride to Charlevoix and La Malbaie, in Quebec. As an added bonus, we also included a tour of Île d’Orléans and a somewhat melancholy tour of Isle-aux-Coudres.

Act one: Golden Gate and Highway 1

From the San Francisco airport, a shuttle brought me to a nearby hotel. I chose a palladium silver CLS 63 AMG in the hopes that I’d be able to take photos of it on the way to wine valley. Just my luck, it started to rain as I approached the svelte, coupe-like sedan whose predecessor has been so often imitated since its stunning debut in 2006.
 Fortunately, it was just a quick shower and the beast didn’t get dirty.

Right off the bat, I noticed that the new CLS is even nicer in person than in photos. It’s long, low and stocky, and its more sculpted sides support the arched roofline that created such a buzz on the first generation. Its new, straighter front grille, inspired by the SLS, gives it a powerful, more modern nose. The AMG treatment is obvious inside, with the classy black lacquered woodwork and a series of mouldings and aluminum rings for the air vents, indicators and controls.

My test car came equipped with the AMG performance package and its sport steering wheel featuring a grey Alcantara rim like in race cars. This $9,800 option boosts power to 550 horses and also adds red brake callipers, an adjustable sport suspension, forged alloy rims and a carbon fibre engine housing.

Heading north across the city, I noticed that the start is jerky at green lights, which is only natural since the seven-speed automatic gearbox is paired with a multidisc clutch that you can feel kick in. Gears shift very smoothly when you leave it in “C” mode (Comfort).

If you press the “Eco” button, the engine cuts when the car is stopped and restarts as soon as you release the brake. This system helps reduce fuel consumption by 27.8% with the new turbo V8 compared to the fabulous 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8. Why would you deprive yourself of it? The CLS 63 is as zen at red lights as the ubiquitous army of Priuses that seem to have overrun San Francisco. And when you accelerate again, the growl of the exhaust makes will help you forget the old engine altogether. Nuff said.

On the legendary Highway 1, it attacks and tames tight, banking and undulating corners with the efficiency of an Olympic wrestler. I noted its precision, power and the complete absence of wobble despite its 1,940 kilos. The CLS 550 that I drove on the way back from Napa had these same qualities, but with less intensity.

Even on nearly deserted straightaways, its accelerations are ferocious and seemingly unstoppable. Thankfully, the braking also has both power and stamina. On the road, the CLS 63 is almost too abrupt when it’s in “Sport +” mode. I told myself that this setting must be for the track. After all, the AMG division designs cars with the race track in mind.

Act two: All-out at Sanair

With the help of our editor-in-chief Denis Duquet, I found myself at the Sanair Circuit in August at the wheel of another CLS 63 AMG for the Guide de l’auto television show. With its calcite white colour, it featured a sophisticated look and it offered multiple accessories, systems and optional luxury packages. It didn’t have the red callipers and other elements of the performance package.

On the track, I immediately rediscovered the same impressive balance in turns as on Highway 1’s winding strip of asphalt. The CLS 63 AMG is one of the most solid and balanced sports cars that I have driven on this circuit for the show, despite weighing two metric tonnes. Even with its suspension on the firmest setting, it still has a little roll in turns, but it understeers a touch at the start.

Even with the anti-skid completely deactivated, it can be controlled with your fingertips and right foot. With 516 lbs.-ft. of torque at a mere 1,700 rpm, it’s easy to ham it up for the camera by drifting a cloud of smoke. However, on the track I noticed that it downshifts in M mode (Manual) more slowly than in Sport +, which defies logic. I had to give up on my performance assessments at Sanair because the gearbox refused to go into RS mode (Race Start), even after carefully following the steps to activate it.

I’d like to know how the CLS 63 handles on a more sinuous and diverse circuit. Its cousin, the E 63 AMG sedan, shares the same drivetrain and seemed livelier in accelerations and turns on the Castellet circuit during its launch, no doubt because it’s 100 kilos heavier. Many people will consider that a small price to pay to have the CLS’ sexier shape.

Act three: La Malbaie and the islands

It’s a real pleasure to get into this new CLS 63 and press the big start button. The V8 awakens with a roar that you’ll never grow tired of. I even cut the engine a few times just to hear it growl a second time. And in Eco mode, it goes quiet at every red light, only to come back to life few seconds later with a series of low notes.

Before heading for La Malbaie, I was finally able to measure the CLS 63’s accelerations in RS mode. I recorded a 0-100 km/hr time of 4.51 seconds and a quarter mile sprint time of 12.57 seconds, with a maximum speed of 190.1 km/hr. That’s a few tenths better than the previous model. And the 38.21 metres it took to stop at 100 km/hr is also a few centimetres better.

Despite its hot-blooded temperament and the dragon living under its hood, the CLS 63 is a very pleasant car for driving long distances and an accomplished GT. Its seats are well made and remain comfortable for hours. The quiet ride is commendable, the trunk is large and the turning radius is surprisingly short. It was a godsend when we were exploring the recesses and back roads in Charlevoix and the big islands of the St.Lawrence.

The suspension is always firm, even when it is on the softest setting, but the ultra-rigid body helps it take almost every challenge thrown its way. The transversal projections measure only a few centimetres but they bang something fierce. If it were my car, I’d get rid of that hard cracking sound emanating from our test car’s dials.

After driving more than 1,500 km, the average fuel consumption was 10.5 litres of super per 100 km. Not bad for an elegant 518-hp luxury sedan that handles equally well on a pretzel-shaped road, on a track or in the city.

One thing is for sure, that the CLS 63 AMG is ready to take on what will surely become its most serious rival, the new BMW M5, which is also getting a twin-turbo V8 with more than 500 horsepower. It will be able to tear off its shirt like Clark Kent and turn into Superman, and the two of them will square off in a battle of superheroes. But until then, it’s tuxedoes and dry martinis à la James Bond. After all, the CLS 63 AMG knows how to behave like a gentleman, despite all that muscle.