Whilst a V8 seems like a natural thing for a performance Audi to adopt, and the BMW M3 grew into its V8, AMG Mercedes have – regardless of their physical size – always seem to have huge V8s shoehorned into them.
What makes AMG’s so enigmatic, especially those from the M156 6.2 Litre V8 era, is just the sheer size of their engines.
Big engines aren’t all that common in Europe. A 5.0 Litre V8 was, for a long time, considered huge, then those barmy Germans brought a whole range of performance derivatives firstly with 5.4 Litre supercharged V8s, and then with massive 6.2 Litre naturally aspirated V8s. The Germans threw this engine into anything they could fit it into, from a small roadster in the SLK63 AMG, to a 7-seater MPV in the R63 AMG and even into an age-old off roader (G63 AMG). Despite this variety of applications, one car above all suited the M156 better than all others: the W204-generation C63 AMG.
As the first Mercedes-AMG car to be developed from the ground up, the C63 possesses what can be described as a true hot rod spirit – small car + big engine = even bigger fun. It’s a classic recipe and AMG mastered it.
The W204 C63 has always played the part of the unhinged hot rod masterfully, too. It embraced its status and became the most extroverted small supersaloon of all time. Its chunky front bumper, widened front arches, quad exhausts and rake angle all contribute to give the car an exaggerated swagger, and then there was the noise. The noise.
The noise is deep, guttural, ancient, American, German, sharp and dull – all at the same time.
Much as it’s 6.2 Litre displacement and aggressive burble tune conjure images of push-rod V8s driven by good ol’ boys, the M156 V8 has always been far, far sharper than people give it credit for. The W204 C63 AMG annihilated its period rivals with 451bhp and over 100ft-lbs of torque more than the E90 M3 and B7 RS4. In terms of sheer speed, the C63 was difficult to catch.
The ultimate testament to the M156’s ability is that AMG still uses the big lump in its AMG GT3 class racing car instead of the 4.0 Litre twin-turbocharged V8 used in the AMG GT road car.
Simply put, the M156 is unbreakable in both physical terms and in terms of spirit. It enforces its will on the whole driving experience, and is so swollen with presence that it still defines AMG as a manufacturer to this day.
Yes, the W204 C63 was never a match dynamically for the E90 M3, but the big V8 was an unignorably larger get-out-of-jail-free card when comparing the two cars. The C63 was always happy to the play the villain of the piece versus the straight-cut BMW and Audi.
The C63 makes you feel villainous. The deathly rumble of the V8 cranes even non-car people’s necks, and the torque available from those vicious 6.2 Litres was ready to overwhelm the 255-section rear tyres faster than it takes a synapse to fire.
The W204 C63 AMG is also somewhat of a zenith. Emissions regulations have forced AMG to downsize their engines, leaving the C63 W204 as the last M156-powered C-Class and the best looking four-door AMG C-Class ever.
There was even an estate version. Let’s leave that to sink in.
Kerbside 