Feeling very jetlagged after a long trip recently, I discovered that there’s nothing quite like a performance car to start your day.
Vroom! A throaty growl from the Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG cabriolet’s supercharged engine said “Wake up, sleepyhead!” in the most arrogant way. Noisy, bloody thing, I thought. I inched out of the driveway and carefully turned into the traffic. And from that moment it was if the 63 and I were one entity.
After two minutes, I turned a corner and wondered whether that gap in the right lane was big enough for me to slip into. Almost as if it had read my mind, the 63 and I had entered into and left that little gap in traffic before I or anyone else noticed where the car was or what it had just done.
My vision was suddenly crystal clear and I was wide awake. The jetlag was disappearing and it felt as if the 63 and I were moving along in a parallel universe that was slightly ahead of everyone else.
The 63 coupe is the formula one safety car and, as such, it is obviously capable of blistering pace to keep formula one cars going at decent enough speeds in the event of an accident during a grand prix race. After driving the 63 cabrio, I really did wish I had a racetrack at my disposal to figure out exactly how far I could push it because it felt the part of a thoroughbred racehorse dying to be unleashed.
And when you do unleash just a little, you realise that it is simply sublime. It does exactly what a performance car should: accelerates as if it wants to break the sound barrier, steers confidently to keep the 18-inch 255mm takkies on the straight and narrow and it handles even the trickiest of twisties like a politician trying to weasel his way out of a tough question — it is smooth, unnervingly confident and entirely unruffled by whatever you throw at it.
I’ve driven many cabrios in the past two years and every time I take the roof down, I have to tie up my long locks to ensure that my hair isn’t a tangle of knots after a few minutes. Of course, when I was taking a friend for a test-drive, he insisted we take the top down and I didn’t have a hair-tie so I expected that after a little while my hair would look as attractive as a bird’s nest, but oddly enough it didn’t. I’m not entirely sure why — maybe it’s because of the car’s insane pace — but the air didn’t buffet around much in the 63. For the first time, I truly felt the wind in my hair and it was sheer exhilaration.
And, with the top down, there’s no escaping the fierce sound of the supercharged engine and the automatic 7-G Tronic transmission allows the revs to climb to very noisy levels before making very quick, sporty changes to the next gear.
The 63 is the top of the CLK range, so it comes with a host of safety aids from ABS to electronic stability control, brake assist and so on. Creature comforts include dual-zone Âclimatronic aircon, electronic, heated seats, xenon lights and much more.
As expected, the CLK 63 AMG cabriolet guzzles fuel at a rate of knots and the more pressure you put on your favourite pedal, the more thirsty it gets.
It’s one of those guilty pleasures — like a hellishly expensive single malt whisky or fine Swiss chocolate — you know how bad it is for you, but it makes you feel good enough to be blissfully oblivious of its effect.
Fact file
Model: Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG cabriolet
Price: R835 000
Engine: 6,3 litre supercharged V8
Tech: 354kW, 630Nm
Top speed: 250kph
Tank: 62 litres
Services: 30 000