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It’s early afternoon sometime in the late eighties and a young teenage version of the author is sitting on a Windhoek sidewalk near his school waiting for a parental pick-up. Suddenly a big white Mercedes roars into sight, stops at a nearby junction and disappears again with howling tyres and booming V8 thunder.
It’s not often that we get the opportunity to review two top models of a brand and the AMG versions of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé certainly qualify for this description. A few months ago I reviewed the three million Dollar plus Bi-turbo V12 S65 AMG and now I’ve had a go in the slightly cheaper Bi-turbo V8 S63 AMG.
‘n Huis se prys. Not only did my most recent test car grab the crown for the priciest car I’ve ever driven, it also sparked furious debates about the unsavory question of price and value. Three million bucks is what the brand-new S65 AMG Coupé will cost you, without options of course.
As a motoring journalist, it was obvious that I knew what my wedding car would be; even before I met my amazing wife. So when our big day was looming closer, a few suave phone calls to the Mercedes-Benz fleet ensured that we had the use of their flagship model, in this case a pearl blue metallic S500.
The best car in the world. Although Mercedes-Benz South Africa preferred to use the phrase “This changes everything” for their flagship model, the S-Class has long been the leader for pioneering technology. Most of what you discover here will trickle down to other cars in a few years.
Mercedes-Benz is one of the most innovative automotive brands on the planet, never mind the oldest, so it’s rather surprising that they have a monster lurking in their pricelist. A rugged, uncompromising, almost backwards machine called (insert sounds of thunder) Der Geländewagen.
When last have you been to the dentist or spent some time with your mother-in-law? I’ll avoid answering both questions but can report that this past weekend, I did something I tend to avoid like the plague: drive a double-cab. Which one? A bi-turbo Volkswagen Amarok 4×2.
After a tad of insomnia and some Google-assisted self diagnosis, it turns out that I have a severe case of withdrawal symptoms. Dilated pupils, dry mouth, extended forearms with clenched fists, restlessness and thundering big block noises in my ears lead me to believe that I yearn for more sixty-three ah emm gee.
Pass the caviar and that black credit card; I’m still high from driving a car so superior and luxurious that only real Beluga and serious retail therapy will cure my withdrawal symptoms. The Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG is near the top of Merc’s price list and makes damn sure you (and others) know about it.