• A 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, powered by the wondrous M156 6.2-liter V-8, is our Bring a Trailer pick of the day with an online auction that ends on Saturday, March 26.
• This was the first AMG engine designed from the ground up by the automaker’s go-fast division, and this era of AMG also represented a renewed focus on handling.
• With V-8s on the continual decline among new cars, now’s the time to hang on to one of the greats.
Seeing this third-generation W204 C63 AMG on BaT instantly transported me back to the fall of 2007 where I was terrorizing the roads of southern Germany in one of these as part of a very fast comparison test against the BMW M3 and Audi RS4. There was one out-of-the-way spot on an unlimited section of autobahn where the photographer wanted to do high-speed panning shots (or maybe just wanted to give us lifelong memories, because as I’m flipping back through the story now, I see none of those were used). We indulged with pass after pass, accelerating up to 150-plus mph then going down to the next exit, looping around, and repeating at least a half-dozen times. Even when not driving the Mercedes, I clearly remember how the sound of the AMG’s wailing V-8 could still hijack the cabin of the Audi or BMW.
The M156 engine is a monster of a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8, the first engine developed from the ground up by the AMG division and not adapted from a lesser Mercedes powerplant; it appeared throughout the AMG lineup of the 2000s. At 3.9 seconds to 60 mph and 12.3 seconds in the quarter-mile, that 451-hp C63 was the quickest of the group by a significant margin. Even more than a decade later, it’s only a couple tenths off the pace of the most recent twin-turbo-V-8 C63, and it beats it in the rolling-start, 5-to-60-mph metric. Although it finished second to the monumental E90 M3, I’ve wanted to own an AMG with the 6.2-liter V-8 ever since.
The M156-powered AMGs have been quite affordable, too, with this particular car a low-mile example that appears to have been extremely well cared for. Bidding is currently at $34,000 with two days to go and, based on past results, might not get to $40K. Try to find an E90 M3 in equivalent condition for that price.
But as overwhelmingly awesome as the 6.2-liter is, one of the best things about this era of AMG was a return to handling prowess in addition to straight-line speed. The C63 had a reworked front suspension with a 1.4-inch-wider track that helped it handle almost as well as it accelerated, although the downside was the worst ride quality of the group. It also could be had only with a seven-speed automatic, although it was so responsive to paddle inputs and shifted so quickly we called it “the world’s best automatic” in that comparison test.
The fact that naturally aspirated V-8s, and V-8s in general, are headed for extinction make hanging on to one that much more desirable. This is a lot of car—and a lot of engine—for the money.
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