Autocar September 28, 2022

AS WE NUDGE ever closer to ‘The Ban’ in 2030, the future of fun is a constant hot topic at Autocar and, if our readers’ correspondence is any guide, among you too. There’s some scepticism, of course. Driving has always been a sensory experience, and if you remove two of the key elements, surely it follows that cars will be less exciting. I can remember a Goodwood Festival of Speed in the early 2010s when Nissan got stuntman Terry Grant to drive a Leaf up the hill in reverse. It was a tough crowd, admittedly, but he’d have got more reaction if he’d been pushing a wheelbarrow. And yet… as our 11-car test on p40 demonstrates, we’ve come a long way since that Goodwood stunt. When cars can deliver genuine chassis adjustability to…

“The engine on its own is the most powerful four-cylinder unit currently in series production” The new Mercedes-AMG C63 S, due later this year, trades its iconic V8 engine for a 670bhp plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines a 469bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and a 201bhp electric motor on the rear axle in a sophisticated four-wheel drive system. As before, the C63 will be available as a saloon and estate, but the role of the twodoor coupé and convertible will be picked up by a hot version of the incoming CLE, which replaces two-door versions of the C-Class and E-Class. For this new generation, the non-S C63 base model is dropped, leaving only the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance, to use its full name. Visually, the C63 is differentiated from the regular C-Class by…

AS WE NUDGE ever closer to ‘The Ban’ in 2030, the future of fun is a constant hot topic at Autocar and, if our readers’ correspondence is any guide, among you too. There’s some scepticism, of course. Driving has always been a sensory experience, and if you remove two of the key elements, surely it follows that cars will be less exciting. I can remember a Goodwood Festival of Speed in the early 2010s when Nissan got stuntman Terry Grant to drive a Leaf up the hill in reverse. It was a tough crowd, admittedly, but he’d have got more reaction if he’d been pushing a wheelbarrow. And yet… as our 11-car test on p40 demonstrates, we’ve come a long way since that Goodwood stunt. When cars can deliver genuine…

“The engine on its own is the most powerful four-cylinder unit currently in series production” The new Mercedes-AMG C63 S, due later this year, trades its iconic V8 engine for a 670bhp plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines a 469bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and a 201bhp electric motor on the rear axle in a sophisticated four-wheel drive system. As before, the C63 will be available as a saloon and estate, but the role of the twodoor coupé and convertible will be picked up by a hot version of the incoming CLE, which replaces two-door versions of the C-Class and E-Class. For this new generation, the non-S C63 base model is dropped, leaving only the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance, to use its full name. Visually, the C63 is differentiated from the…

If it wasn’t clear from the change in engine, then the revolution in the C63’s chassis and the way the engineers talk about their aims with this project confirm that the new C63 will be a very different car from the outgoing model. That’s not by accident: there is no sense in making a similar car with a less charismatic engine. It needs a new USP. In the new C63, the tyresmoking hot rod element takes a back seat so that AMG can go after the Audi RS4 customer, who wants a car that is as easy to live with as a C220d and has secure, competent handling in all weather but can still take your breath away with its performance. At the same time, the handling should be less ‘blunt…

If it wasn’t clear from the change in engine, then the revolution in the C63’s chassis and the way the engineers talk about their aims with this project confirm that the new C63 will be a very different car from the outgoing model. That’s not by accident: there is no sense in making a similar car with a less charismatic engine. It needs a new USP. In the new C63, the tyresmoking hot rod element takes a back seat so that AMG can go after the Audi RS4 customer, who wants a car that is as easy to live with as a C220d and has secure, competent handling in all weather but can still take your breath away with its performance. At the same time, the handling should be less…