Black Magic
June 26, 2008
It's called the CLK Black, and it's a Ferrari-bothering supercar. Jeremy Clarkson wants one..
'It handled with a panache that would have Ferrari test drivers nodding sagely'
In motoring, it goes without saying that certain things are mutually exclusive. You can't, for
instance, have a low-slung sports car which works off road; you can't have a high top speed and good economy; and you can't have your dignity if you also have a small Korean hatchback. Also, despite many claims to the contrary, you can't have a car which performs well on the Nürburgring and on the ring road. Or, at least, you couldn't until now...You may imagine that the car you see in the pictures is some kind of DTM racer for the road, as hard as nails, as focussed as a laser and impossibly uncomfortable should you ever be asked to drive across, say, Keith Richards's face.
It isn't. What you're looking at here is the only car I know which really does achieve the
impossible. A car that could quite happily get you, and more luggage than you could imagine, actually to Beijing. But which, I suspect, could quite happily bite chunks out of a Porsche turbo's arse on a twisting and deserted piece of Welsh A road.It comes from the skunk works deep inside the special projects division Mercedes calls AMG. And it's badged simply, and in newsprint-sized letters, as the Black.
>'The starting-point is an AMG CLK with 474bhp, but a bit of fiddling has taken the Black past 500bhp'
The first Black was a disaster. Merc fitted a hard
carbon roof, along with hard carbon suspension to an SLK and was undoubtedly very pleased with the way it could handle a race track. But the engineers were so nervous about the way it might feel in the real world, they wouldn't actually let me try one. "It's not very nice," said a Mercedes spokesman. And, from what I can gather from my colleagues who did have a go - many of whom are now being fed mashed food through a tube up their nose - they were right.
The new Black is different. The starting-point is an AMG CLK, which normally comes with a 474bhp, 6.2-litre V8. However, for the Black, a bit of fiddling with the exhaust and the electronics has taken that up past 500bhp. Never mind
Porsche. We're deep in Ferrari territory here.
Inside, the posh seats have been replaced with body-hugging buckets. They're so body-hugging in fact, that I'd challenge even Jon Bon Jovi to get behind the wheel and do his seatbelt up.
Other things? Well the seat motors have gone, along with the satnav, the motor for the steering column adjustment, the back seats, and some of the airbags. In addition, the door panels are now carbon fibre, and the net result of all this is that the Black weighs just a tiny bit more than when the engineers started.
carbon roof, along with hard carbon suspension to an SLK and was undoubtedly very pleased with the way it could handle a race track. But the engineers were so nervous about the way it might feel in the real world, they wouldn't actually let me try one. "It's not very nice," said a Mercedes spokesman. And, from what I can gather from my colleagues who did have a go - many of whom are now being fed mashed food through a tube up their nose - they were right.The new Black is different. The starting-point is an AMG CLK, which normally comes with a 474bhp, 6.2-litre V8. However, for the Black, a bit of fiddling with the exhaust and the electronics has taken that up past 500bhp. Never mind
Porsche. We're deep in Ferrari territory here.Inside, the posh seats have been replaced with body-hugging buckets. They're so body-hugging in fact, that I'd challenge even Jon Bon Jovi to get behind the wheel and do his seatbelt up.
Other things? Well the seat motors have gone, along with the satnav, the motor for the steering column adjustment, the back seats, and some of the airbags. In addition, the door panels are now carbon fibre, and the net result of all this is that the Black weighs just a tiny bit more than when the engineers started.
That's mainly because it has a Brunellian rear axle and a diff made from granite. Oh, and just
about the best body kit I've ever seen.The net result is stunning. Initially, it scares you half to death because it seems to be dancing down the road, and then you realise it is dancing. You're just telling it where to go.
I loved this car. Adored it. I loved the noise when it started, a huge bellowing "hello". I loved the speed. I loved the way it looked. And I loved the way that when I took it to a Welsh mountain, it gripped and handled with a panache that would have the Ferrari test drivers nodding sagely. You really can talk about this thing in the same breath as a 430.
But here's the kicker. It's not a Ferrari. It's a
Mercedes CLK. And yes, while some of the normal stuff has been binned, it still has an auto gearbox, plumbing for a phone, cruise and that Germanic integrity on a motorway. It even rides properly. I'd say it's smoother than my SLK55.What's more, because the rear seats have gone - and the EU won't let you put them back in again, in case the moon goes out of orbit or some such nonsense - there is more space in the back than you get in most barns. It even has a system which allows you to play your iPod and see on the dash display what track you're hearing.
>'The Black is brilliant, everywhere, at absolutely everything. By miles and miles,
it's my new favourite car'
it's my new favourite car'See what I mean? It's a normal car. But it goes like a rocket. And thanks to carbon-ceramic brakes, it stops pretty tidily as well. A Ferrari is awesome in the right place, but buggers its nose everywhere else, and the leather squeaks and the headlights are no good. The Black is brilliant, everywhere, at absolutely everything. By miles and miles, it's my new favourite car.
There is just one catch. Even though it comes with less stuff than a normal AMG CLK, it costs a ridiculous £34,000 more. Yes. You read that correctly. The Black is a six-figure car, and that's way too much.
It should cost £66,000 - the same as the standard car - so that buyers have a choice. A car that's kind to your hands. Or one that does the dishes as well.
Even so, I shall doff my cap to anyone who buys this thing. A Ferrari or a Porsche may well say more about you to more people. But a Black targets what it says to just a select few. And what it says, very quietly, is this: "If you really know your cars, you know why the person behind the wheel bought this... "
God, I want one.
There is just one catch. Even though it comes with less stuff than a normal AMG CLK, it costs a ridiculous £34,000 more. Yes. You read that correctly. The Black is a six-figure car, and that's way too much.
It should cost £66,000 - the same as the standard car - so that buyers have a choice. A car that's kind to your hands. Or one that does the dishes as well.
Even so, I shall doff my cap to anyone who buys this thing. A Ferrari or a Porsche may well say more about you to more people. But a Black targets what it says to just a select few. And what it says, very quietly, is this: "If you really know your cars, you know why the person behind the wheel bought this... "
God, I want one.
