| Behind the wheel of a Mercedes C63 AMG- Motoring Nirvana!
Circa 2001
While I was in college, when the guys used to get together and hang out on a sidewalk, invariably a hot girl used to walk past us, and there was this typical drooling till she rounded the bend and then came a dismissive sigh, followed by "I don't think she is the one for me, she is too hot and she can't be a good wife". Well, though I knew it was the sour grapes theory, I had to stick by my buddies, so I just used to tut tut and walk away. Since then I have been grappling with this thought as to why hot women can't make good wives. I believe that life need not be in black and white and there is a midway in everything, and women are no exception.
11 years on, the past Thursday to be precise, this notion was finally dispelled, thanks to the 45 minutes I spent behind the wheel of a Mercedes C63 AMG driving around the back lanes of Bandra Kurla Complex. Just a bit of history as to how, I a normal upper middle class guy working in a global software major got around to driving one of the most bespoke sport sedans in the world. On Monday, a mail pops up in my inbox from our HR team stating that we can register for the drive of our lifetime on a C63 AMG. Though I did not believe that I stood a chance (I don't fit the income bracket the typical Merc owners fall in), I registered nevertheless for a drive on Wednesday. While Wednesday came and went, the call didn't come from Shaman auto who were offering this test drive and I assumed that I did not make the cut. But the very next day by about noon, I got a call from the Merc sales exec that he was besides our office building and I was free to come down for a drive. I pulled along a colleague of mine who did not even bother to register thinking that it was a gimmick. A quick ride down the elevator and we were welcomed by the sight of two maidens in white, one a pretty bride ( the normal C) and parked a little ahead with the twin exhausts peeking from under the skirt was her rowdy bridesmaid the C63 AMG. It was a no brainer that which car I opted to drive![/FONT]
[FONT="]As I stepped into the AMG and strapped myself onto the co-pilot's seat, I was in for a surprise. I had expected some hardcore stuff as I stepped into the 457 bhp monster , but I was welcomed by a perfectly hospitable interior with enough legroom and headroom. With some nice racing red leathers around me, a bespoke 3 pointed steering wheel and minimalistic grey dash which housed the entertainment and climate control systems, the C63's cockpit is a real nice place to be in. While I was keeping myself busy up front, my colleague had got cozy in the rear. So, after a few basic fundas on the car, the sales exec fired up the engine and.......the world as I knew it changed. The burble of the 6.2 Ltr V8 startled all and sundry in the area. I distinctly remember the woman who was taking a puff drop her cigarette onto her feet and for the next two minutes, we were celebrities. As the car rolled off the line, there were no theatrics, no wheel-spins, it was like a classy European dame off for a dinner at the Bistro. As we cruised down the main road of BKC, sales exec took us through the party tricks in the interiors, the equipment, the dual zone aircon and the works. The creature comforts in this thing are top notch, I must admit and Mercedes has developed a perfectly liveable car in the C63. I know that no one is interested in the interiors of the AMG, so let me get to the meat.
Turning of the main road onto the back lanes of BKC, which are concretized havens as there is hardly any traffic apart from the occasional RMC carrier. The roads were a little muddy thanks to the rains which had lashed the city the previous day and it gave us the ideal opportunity to test the traction control at work. First up, the sales exec switched off the traction control and gunned the engine. For a moment nothing happened and then we could hear the rear wheels kicking up a fury and we were propelled forward as if there was a booster rocket stuck to our behind ( one of those Tom and Jerry things). I don't remember anything else apart from the bellow from the V8 and the small tachometer furiously redlining. Even before I could enjoy my aha moment, we were at 140 kph and with a rumbler coming right up, we had to let go. The beauty or the AMG is that once you step off the gas, it senses that you are going to stop and the nanny kicks in and slows the car a bit, very neat addition to a car which can tell boys from men on the road.The braking, with less than 50 metres was spot on and there were no tantrums, the driver aids went about their business and soon we were going over the rumbler like an aunty driving an alto. Now, I drive a T-Jet and a Palio 1.6 Sport, and both have stiff suspensions. But the AMG's level of stiffness (we were in comfort mode) was in a different league. You run over a pebble and the suspension will send it straight through to your bottom, a reprimand if you will, so that you don't run over a pebble again. We also did a few spins with the TC off and oh boy!, was it fun. Circling back to how civil this car is, I need to mention that the C63 has anti pinch windows and sun roof, just in case your kid got a bit naughty. Not that the C63 will be used for school drops, but you can use it your wife has gone to the beauty salon in the SUV.
Ten minutes into the ride, the sales exec pulls over on the side and says, she is all yours sir. As I stepped out of the car to swap my shotgun seat for the pilot's, I was in seventh heaven. Dived into the seat, strapped myself in and signed off the mandatory risk form which anyone who rides the AMG has to sign. Having absolved Shaman auto of all liabilities, in case I put the beast in a wall, I cranked the engine. No fancy "Start/Stop" or race buttons here, nice old school key in the slot. As the V8 came to life and settled onto a slight burble, the first feeling that came to me was "fear". Here was a 457 bhp monster which is by far the most powerful car I have driven ( the second one was a 300 bhp 335i) and one mistake and I can be in one of those innumerable open slushes in BKC throwing up dirt all around. So I close my eyes for a moment, take a deep breath and slot the G-Tronic in D and roll off the line. The next 5 minutes, I pottered around time knowing her, gingerly feeding the throttle and sensing how much power is on tap, which is a whole lot. After this initial courting, I was comfortable and knew that she is not a total hooligan but can be a suave classy arm candy should I want her to be. Now that the introductions were over, I gunned her and went clicking through the gears in manual mode and there was my aha moment. The V8 singing along as I slammed through the gears and the scenery around me blurring is something that I cannot express in words, it has to be experienced.
Another 10 mins on the manual mode, I grew a little adventurous and decided to use the paddle shifters. Being a F1 fan, the big three pointed wheel with paddle shifters egged the Nico Rosberg in me and off I went. The paddle shifters are brilliant and with 457 bhp on tap, you don't get around beyond three taps as by the time you exhaust the power band in the first 3 gears, you have run out of road. But the point is that they work well in the real world and can be a blast on the Mumbai Pune expressway or any free flowing highway sans people movers for that matter. This beast is not just quick on the straight-line, with a hydraulic power steering and with tyre profiles and rims that befit the sports car that she is, the steering feedback is spot on and you can really throw her around corners and she will crave for more. I don't think the C63 will rival the M3 but she can hold her own when it comes to a fight. I did not get to explore the full potential of the C63, but from what trailer I got a glimpse of, I am damn sure that the movie can only be better.
As I rolled her back to my office, I saw the normal C parked in front, all classy, like a doyen waiting for her beau. I stepped out of the AMG and gave her one long look and I could remember the college incident where my friends dismissed the hottie as not "family material". How wrong they were, those poor blighted souls. They would have eaten their own words had they been with me in the C63 AMG. She can be a wild animal gunning for you with all 457 horses at the Buddh International Circuit or she can be a special sedan and go with you and your mother for an appointment with the dentist. At 1.18 Crore on road, it is a fairly expensive car to go to the dentist, but heck, dentists aren't cheap either. As I was about to walk up to my office, the sales exec asked me if I would like to test drive the regular "C", I couldn't suppress my grin and neither could he, as both of us knew, the core auto enthusiasts we were, that would be holy sacrilege. It would not be fair on the C63 or on the C as both are from different worlds and serve different needs. Since, at this point in my life I could afford neither of them, the best thing I could do was to walk away from both of them, still reeling from the high of being behind the wheel of the Mercedes Benz AMG C63.
Now I know what AMG stands for-"Awwwwwww Myyyyyyy Godddddd!" | 
18th June 2012, 08:54
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