First Drive: 2019 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG

First Drive: 2019 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG

The current Mercedes-Benz CL-Class has been with us since the 2007 model year. While its styling wasn't particularly dated, the soft lines of the full-size coupe have always evoked more prestige than excitement. Forget about last year's figure, as the German automaker has put its four-seat "C216" platform under a cosmetic knife for the 2011 model year. Healed and with the bandages removed, all CL-Class models have emerged with a polished new appearance. Front fascias receive the obligatory LED daytime running lamps (two horizontal bars with seven illuminating diodes apiece) and standard bi-Xenon headlamps with Adaptive Highbeam Assist for state-of-the-art illumination. All turn indicators and markers now utilize new LED technology, restyled on both the front and the rear, for excellent visibility and crisp signaling. Mercedes-Benz offers its 2011 CL-Class in four different flavors: CL550 4MATIC, CL63 AMG, CL600 and CL65 AMG - being performance-minded types, we're going to focus our eyes on the "volume" enthusiast-tuned model. The refreshed 2011 CL63 AMG is differentiated in the front by a single chrome bar across the grille and a high-gloss black lower fascia crossmember (from a distance, it appears hidden).

Other distinguishing characteristics include a unique rear apron with a diffuser insert and quad "AMG" tailpipes, the most obvious part of the sport exhaust system. Lastly, the CL63 AMG wears standard AMG-spec 20-inch cast alloy wheels with 255/35ZR20 size tires in the front and 275/35ZR20 in the rear. The interior of the Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG is more comfortable than your living room. Driver and front passenger are absorbed into standard 14-way electronically adjustable AMG sport seats with heat, ventilation and memory. Our test car was fitted with the optional "active multicontour seats" that include massage and drive dynamic functions (air bladders actively inflate to hold occupants in place during cornering). After our six-hour, two-leg flight from California, a warm heated seat combined with a "vigorous" massage was just what the spine ordered. Cabin instrumentation mirrors that of the S-Class, the CL's very close cousin. There are analog gauges on each side of the primary digital display (projecting a virtual speedometer and doubling as the screen for the optional "Night View Assist PLUS" system). The secondary controls operate in a logical manner and are located much where they would be expected.

The seat and window controls are on the door, while the infotainment center is controlled via the automaker's COMAND system with its "joystick" dial on the center console. Of special note is the optional "Splitview" screen on the dashboard. Centrally located, it has the ability to project two completely different images (e.g., navigation map and a DVD-based movie) simultaneously - one aimed at the driver, the other at the front passenger. The CL63 is a two-door coupe, but its S-Class architecture allows plenty of room for all four passengers. The two rear seats are comfortable and relatively easy to access, as long as the driver chauffeuring the vehicle isn't over six-foot tall (the front seats were moved completely rearward in the photos found in our gallery). Passengers in the back will not complain, as they are also seated in the same cocoon of fine leather and Alcantara with burl walnut, black ash or carbon fiber accents.

While cosmetic improvements and a cozy cabin are warmly welcomed, the new powerplant is the one item that significantly changes the game. The outgoing 2010 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG featured a hand-built naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter rated at 518 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Powerful and universally admired, the engine did nearly everything well except drive past fueling stations thanks to an Environmental Protection Agency rating of 11 miles per gallon in the city and 18 highway. That was last year. Embracing now-commonplace fuel-efficient engine technology, the naturally-aspirated eight-cylinder engine has been dropped. In its place is a direct-injected, four-valve, twin-turbocharged, eight-cylinder powerplant. While direct injection is far from new (Mercedes-Benz used the technology in its 1954 300SL Gullwing), the automaker is using a unique dual fuel pump system with this new engine. A low-pressure (84 psi) pump in the gas tank supplies fuel to a second high-pressure (up to 2,556 psi) pump for the eight piezo injectors.

The pressure is adjusted, on a demand basis, to lessen the electrical load on the vehicle and save fuel. There is one Garrett turbocharger for each bank of four cylinders, each welded directly to the exhaust manifold to save space and allow more room to closely mount the catalytic converters. Boost pressure is limited by a computer-controlled vacuum-operated wastegate valve (which allows the turbochargers to freewheel during deceleration to increase efficiency). The hot pressurized air from the turbochargers flows through an air-water intercooler, nestled in the "V" of the engine, which operates with its own dedicated nose-mounted radiator and coolant circuit. The new engine puts out some seriously impressive numbers. Thanks to 14.2 psi of forced induction, the hand-assembled "M157" twin-turbo 5.5-liter (5,461 cubic centimeters) eight-cylinder is rated at 536 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent through a seven-speed multi-clutch transmission to the rear wheels. Unlike the automaker's smooth seven-speed automatic with a traditional torque converter (found under the hood of the 2011 CL550 4MATIC), the sportier gearbox in the CL63 AMG uses a compact wet startup clutch in an oil bath.