Mercedes has been struggling to sell the new generation of the AMG C63 S E Performance but for some reason they think that it might just work in the Indian market so they will launch it in India as well on November 12. Our response is a little harsh but so is everyone’s who actually loved what the previous generations stood for. We don’t think that the enthusiasts in India would care about this vehicle and Mercedes will surely have a tough time moving them from the showroom floor.
I’m not the only one to be skeptical about the new generation C63, the C43 itself has performed quite poorly after dropping the six-cylinder engine and the C63 with the same engine is just sacrilege. Now we get that it has a lot of power and is faster than the previous generation, but it lacks the buff and brutish nature of the previous C63 that everyone loved. The V8 was the defining feature and the C63 for long was considered as the European muscle car.
The Problem
The new car has a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine which is the same as the entry level A45 AMG hatchback. Mercedes has also mounted an electric motor to the rear axle. Both the combustion engine and electric motor produce a combined output of 680 bhp. It is paired to a 9-speed dual clutch transmission and power goes to all four wheels. It will do 0-100 kmph in just 3.4 seconds which is quite fast but the problem is that it will also weigh around 2.1 tones. That is a lot of mass to move around for what is considered to be a small executive sedan.
Mercedes in order to move towards the electrified future and ruined the legacy of the C63. They presumed that the F1 tech could have done wonders to the vehicle but not at the expense of the vehicle’s character. Even in India, the customer shelling out so much money would definitely care about the engine under their bonnet and the C63 S E Performance completely fails to acknowledge what the buyers want.
Loosing On Home Turf
Its just not me who is skeptical of the C63 S E Performance. The vehicle had fairly poor sales in its home country, Germany and some claim that it was “nearly zero”. The M4 which is the direct rival to the C63 S E Performance is a performance bargain when comparing apples to apples. While the AMG has more power on paper, the M4 is close when it comes to power-to-weight ratio making it as fast if not more. The 680 bhp figure is only achieved for 10 seconds while in boost mode and cannot be used indefinitely.
We don’t expect it to do any better on Indian soil as well. The C43 AMG which is the smaller more affordable sibling is also struggling in front of the much more capable Indian produced M340i and the Audi S5, both of which are highly popular with the enthusiasts of Indian and both of them have six-cylinder engines.
Expect Crazy Pricing
The C63 S E Performance is going to have crazy pricing. It is already quite a bit more expensive than the comparative M4 in the international market and it would be even more expensive in India coming via the CBU route. We expect pricing around Rs 2 crore (ex-showroom) which is M5 money and there are a lot more options at that price. We want MB to skip this model altogether and just give us the upcoming CLE 63 which is rumored to have a V8.
