The names Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher may not mean much to your average lay person, but what will certainly ring a bell in the minds of true blue auto enthusiast are three letters of the alphabet – A, M & G. Taken together AMG (aah-em-gay if you’re German) is the name of the company the duo founded 42 years ago.

Anybody who has any idea of cars and car-related matter knows that AMG is a company dedicated to the design and construction of high performance street and racing engines. Since 1988, AMG has been collaborating with Mercedes Benz on several fronts. So much so that there is an AMG version of almost every passenger car range Mercedes produces today – starting from the C63 AMG to the S65 AMG.

When Mercedes-Benz invited me to be part of the Fascination Drive, I must mention that initially I was only mildly excited, having been on two such drives already. However, the moment Manas Dewan from Mercedes mentioned ‘AMG’ in the conversation, I was electrified. You see, since my childhood many moons ago (when I was still in ‘half-pants’) I have always been taken up with AMG and Alpina versions of Mercs and BMWs respectively, even if the base version held no interest for me. You see, anything drivable that has been modified for greater speed and power, be it a lawnmower or a gentle San Storm, is of immense interest to me.



The cars in the range that Mercedes has just introduced in India hold great promise – the C63 AMG, a C-Class with a 457bhp and 600Nm, 6,208cc V8 engine shoehorned into it, the SL63 AMG roadster with the same capacity V8 but with 525bhp and 630Nm on tap, the CLS 63 AMG, which is probably one of the most stylish cars on the roads today, and with a 514bhp, 630Nm, 6,208cc V8 engine in it, the E63 AMG, which is an E Class car with a 514bhp, 630Nm, 6,208cc V8 engine in it, the SLK55 AMG roadster powered by a 5,439cc V8 developing 360bhp and 510Nm, and lastly, the S65 AMG – the big daddy of them all – with a twin-turbocharged 5,980cc V12 engine developing 612bhp of power and, wait for this, 1,000Nm of torque – enough to propel this whale of a car to 100km/h in just 4.4 seconds.

However, closer to the day of the drive it transpired that only three AMG models would be available due to certain constraints – the SL63 AMG, the CLS63 and the S65 AMG. Personally, this was a bit of a blow because having driven both the Kompressor and V6 versions of the SLK previously, I had been looking forward to driving the complete SLK range, but, alas, that was not to be. Anyway, I had the SL63 AMG to look forward to, so it wasn’t too bad.

Before the drive, we were split into pairs and I was teamed with fellow columnist Murad Ali Baig. The drive started off gently with me getting to grips with the luxury-end versions of the E, the C, and the diesel S320 CDi (not AMG). This was alright with me, as I prefer to get attuned with the rhythm of the road and the cars before I take on the heavies. According to the schedule, our first taste of AMG would come some distance before hitting Jodhpur. We were to be in the SL63 AMG till the refuelling point outside Jodhpur, and then from there to the Khejarla for the end of leg we would be in the CLS63 AMG. At the fuel stop, Murad took over the SL. I was in the following car contorting myself into different positions trying to get that abiding image of the SL as the photographer in me took control. When we stopped, I got out to take over from Murad but instead was shocked to realise that it was the end of the leg – I had become so taken up with capturing the exquisite lines of the SL63 AMG on the move in my camera that I had missed driving the car I had really wanted to drive the most. Pleading, cajoling or begging amounted to nothing because the schedule did not allow a second chance.



Disappointed, I turned to the CLS63 AMG. The CLS63 AMG is powered by a 6.3 litre (6,208cc) AMG V8 engine, claimed to have the highest specific power and torque developed by any naturally aspirated (that is, not supercharged or turbocharged) eight cylinder production engine in the world. Power and torque is transmitted to the wheels via an AMG SPEEDSHIFT 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission with automatic double declutching and three shift modes. The driver gets a choice between fully automatic and semi-manual gear shifting via aluminium gearshift paddles.

Now, the CLS looks like a coupe but it has four doors. Mercedes has thus managed to combine the innate stylishness of a coupé with the practicality of a saloon car. The designers have managed to make the CLS look dynamic, well-proportioned and elegant while the general low-lying appearance that makes the CLS look like a coupé. At 4,915mm x 1,873mm x1,389mm (LBH), the CLS is not a small car. The wheelbase is 2,854mm, the same as your standard E Class Mercedes.

As I took over the car, I noted the 19 inch AMG light alloy wheels and low aspect ratio tyres make it look eminently more chuck-able. While getting in, you cannot ignore the AMG logo on the door sill. The cockpit of the CLS is a mixture of grayish black and tan. The instrumentation, lest you forget, is badged AMG – the speedometer taking centre stage with an analog clock and a tachometer on either side of it. The sporty seats with lateral shoulder support for hard cornering are very comfortable, and both the driver’s & front passenger’s seats feature a memory function. The driver gets a nicely padded three-spoke steering wheel to hold, behind which is the sweeping fascia with wood inserts. On my left, a short stubby gear shift lever that helps you command the 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission.