Mercedes CL63 (2006) AMG CAR review

Is it as fast as it looks?

Oh yes indeed. It’s an absolute gem, this engine. Despite its big 6208cc capacity it revs with such a deep-lunged enthusiasm, delivering great gobs of acceleration with effortless ease. There’s 518bhp available at a screaming 6800rpm, so performance is searing. Once the CL gets going it feels like nothing will stop it – the acceleration is just relentless. Peak torque of 465lb ft may come in at a highish 5200rpm, but the all-alloy V8’s complex variable intake system means at a low 2000rpm there’s already a massive 369lb ft on tap. Gunned from standstill and the big coupe will race through its seven-speed automatic transmission to touch 60mph in 4.6seconds and bounce up hard against its 155mph as if it were a brick wall. Rocket sled doesn't even come close. Limiting this car to 155mph is like letting Gordon Ramsay only cook cheese on toast. You don’t really tap into its full potential.

Any good around corners?

Make no mistake, the CL is a big bit of metal to start larking about with. I’m not going to trot out some old nonsense about it shrinking around you so that you can hustle it along like it were a hot hatch. Because you can’t – this is a five metre plus car with a 2085kg kerb weight. But you can punt this large chunk of car very hard indeed up to a very well defined point. And that point sits so high on the white-knuckle barometer, that if you breach it, you’ll only have yourself to blame. The ABC active body control systems virtually eliminates body roll pitch and dive and along with the taut and surprisingly chatty steering, makes the car feel nimble and wieldy enough to give a Gallardo a hard time up an alpine pass. And it has the brakes to keep you out of trouble – those huge 390mm front and 365mm rear composite discs are gripped by newly developed sliding callipers that offer seatbelt-bruising levels of deceleration.