2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

Touring Winnipeg in Luxury

It was perfect timing. My friend Annie was in for one night in Winnipeg for the first time and I had the keys to a red hot 2012 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG for the weekend. As it was her first visit to Winnipeg and since I “had” to drive the car all weekend, I offered to play the role of tour guide for the evening.

Our first stop was the Manitoba Legislature where photos of the C63. I may have taken one photo of Annie on the steps of the Legislature. After a brief history lesson on Manitoba, we proceeded to the Forks. Again, more photos of the C63 and one more of Annie.

This was followed by a short tour of St. Boniface, the North End, Garden City and Polo Park. We also made a pit stop at Assiniboine Park, around the west Perimeter, to end up at the University of Manitoba and a surprise visit to friends in Richmond West for dinner. Plus, I had to show off the new wheels.

I admit that I took a couple detours along the way. I really didn’t want to get out of the driver’s seat.

Just starting the engine on the C63 sent chills throughout my body. The C63 AMG sports a 7-speed automatic transmission and a 6.3L V8 engine that pumps out 451 hp. Four hundred and fifty one horsepower! That basically gets you from 0-100km/hr in about 4.3 seconds and I can confirm that.

Mercedes Benz lists the coupe’s maximum speed at 280km/hr. I’m just going to take that on blind faith since no Canadian highway has a speed limit that high. With that much speed and power, I’m not going to even mention fuel economy.

Plain and simple, the C63 AMG is one ultimate driving machine. It’s a powerful and elegantly designed car that turns heads as you drive down the street. The entire vehicle oozes sex appeal and it didn’t hurt that my weekend tester came in Fire Opal red. The 18-inch, five-spoke AMG alloy rims caught my attention pretty quickly.

The interior of the C63 AMG was no different. Sitting in the driver’s seat at the dealership, I knew it would be a pretty kick-ass weekend as I put the C63 AMG through its paces. In order to maximum driving time, the thought of sleeping in the car throughout the weekend also crossed my mind. Getting back on topic, the interior leather styling and bucket seats made it hard to step out of the car.

I got even more excited as I wrapped my hands around the leather wrapped steering wheel equipped with AMG paddle shifters! This made driving around the Perimeter Hwy fun. I kind of wish all cars had paddle shifters.

Other vehicles in the same category include the BMW M3, Audi RS 5 and the Cadillac CTS V Coupe. Pricing on the 2012 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG tester was around $75k.

Special thanks to Esther and Roger from Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg for setting me up for the weekend ride. It was a memorable tour of Winnipeg in an amazing vehicle.