Mercedes-AMG CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung review

Spezi-farti – sorry, what? And what on earth is that name about?

In essence, it is a literal German rendering of ‘custom made’. AMG says the name carries particular significance for the company, although it is also telling that an engineer proposed it – at least AMG did not apparently spend millions on a branding consultancy to arrive at it.

Really, it ought to be called a Black Series. A far better label. Its debut came just before the Madrid GP, in a bullring, where Toto Wolff, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli all had their say. The unexpected part was that nobody knew it was on the way: no concept car had previewed it, merely an invitation extended to ‘customers and special guests’. The following day, the sole running example was at the Jarama circuit, where we had a few laps before George and Kimi took it to the Madring.

Enough of the preamble, though. Leave aside the name’s semantics for now; what matters is what this car signifies and represents.

So it returns a V8 to the front of a Mercedes coupé?

Exactly. AMG openly concedes it has received considerable criticism in recent years. Indeed, one AMG director told me, “we were quite glad when the [Ferrari] Luce came along and took the heat from us”. Almost all of that reaction stemmed from the C63 becoming a hybrid – with the electric AMG GT 4dr also playing a part. Mercedes-AMG has now demonstrated that a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 can indeed sit beneath the bonnet.

That was never in doubt. The difficulty was finding room for it once it was burdened with all the hybrid hardware. This car therefore goes without it: simply a 646bhp/626lb ft engine delivering every bit of its power to the rear wheels.

With that name, though, it cannot merely be a new C63, can it?

Not remotely. AMG operates on a graduated scale of exclusivity. At one end sit cars wearing only AMG-Line bodykits; then come the ‘proper’ AMGs, such as the GLE63 AMG and AMG GT – the fast models that anybody can purchase.

Beyond those are the fabled Black Series cars: limited-run, more specialised machines including the C63 AMG Black Series and AMG GT Black Series. They were once the ultimate expression of AMG. A couple of years ago, however, AMG introduced Mythos: heavily reworked cars produced in tiny quantities. The first was the AMG PureSpeed, effectively an SL with its windscreen removed. Just 250 were made. The Spezialanfertigung is number two.
Well done for typing that.

I will not be doing so again, because this ought to be a Black Series. I am certain it would carry that badge if AMG were producing 1,000 examples. It is not. It is making 30.

Thirty Mercedes-AMG CLE 646s? It could shift thousands

Hold that thought; I will return to it. This car is, however, genuinely specialised. Essentially, the CLE 646 is the result of engineers having an idea and discovering how far they could take it. That is apparently how it began: I was told that several discreet emails circulated within AMG’s engineering department before, at some point, the CEO was copied in and everyone hoped for the best.

No doubt the engineers would have welcomed a proper production programme, yet for whatever reason the decision was taken to build it in extremely restricted numbers. Perhaps the aim was to get it into public view as quickly as possible and counter the complaints surrounding the hybrid C63.

The programme has moved remarkably quickly. Bastien Baudy, formerly head of AMG design and, for the past few months, head of Mercedes design as a whole, showed me sketches on his phone that he drew while on holiday last summer. That suggests perhaps 18–20 months from initial concept to finished car – extraordinarily rapid for a European manufacturer. Compromises have been necessary, though: for example, the car cannot be sold in the US.

Its tiny production run also required it to be markedly different. AMG has not taken things as far as Ford did with the Mustang GTD, which was effectively a new vehicle from the ground up. Here, the structure has acquired a little extra rigidity and the wheels sit 60mm farther out than on a CLE 53. Every new body panel – virtually everything other than the doors and rear wings – is made from carbon fibre, while plenty of aerodynamic hardware has been added.

But it is not really an aero car, is it?

No. The rear wing produces 250kg of downforce, but it is working against a kerb weight of 1,895kg. That represents a 170kg reduction compared with the four-wheel-drive CLE 53, yet this remains a substantial machine. Then again, that is AMG: a company more inclined to add power than remove mass.

Which takes us to the V8 – what is it like?

The M177 Evo delivers around 90 per cent of what you hope for. Two minor details hold it back: it reaches only 6,800rpm, despite still pulling fiercely at that point, and its flat-plane crank means it lacks the raucous, lumpy note of older V8 AMGs.

AMG has collaborated with Akrapovic on the titanium exhaust, though, and where many flat-plane V8s can sound rather thin, this one produces a more chest-thumping soundtrack. There are plenty of crackles on the overrun, too. It has the volume and enough AMG character to almost match the bodywork. Incidentally, that large toothy grille dominates in photographs, but the swollen arches balance it in the metal.

The V8 pulls smoothly, revs evenly and has very linear torque delivery, but I want it to have more attitude

Returning to the engine, it may be a little too polite. The V8 pulls cleanly, builds revs consistently and delivers its torque very linearly, but I want more character from it: perhaps some lag or a greater feeling of crescendo. The gearbox may actually be the problem. Mercedes’ nine-speed multi-clutch transmission has so many ratios that you spend almost as much time shifting between them as you do using them. Combined with the relatively modest rev ceiling, I repeatedly hit the limiter. The gearbox is not sharp enough, either.

That makes it sound slightly disappointing

The chassis rescues it. For such a distinctive car, the powertrain can feel lifted from a regular production model – and in many respects it is, given that it is a lightly revised version of the GLE 63 engine.

The chassis, however, is intriguing and lends the car a distinct personality. AMG partnered with KW to fit the CLE 646 with manually adjustable coilover suspension. I suspect they enjoyed tuning it. Its difference is immediately apparent: it allows a degree of roll, reacts more naturally and feels more connected. The way it settles so smoothly under braking, progressively takes on roll and seems to work slowly even when you are travelling quickly is superb.

Enormous 305-section front tyres and 420mm ceramic brakes provide huge stopping force and serious turn-in grip. More steering feel would be welcome, although tyres this wide make that unrealistic. I would settle for weightier steering, both to communicate the forces at work more clearly and to make you work as hard as the car does.

It simply does not understeer. Yet it remains well balanced. On corner exits, you can sense the weight moving rearwards as the rear tyres begin to smear and the car eases into oversteer. There is plenty of feedback through the crisp throttle. It is a naturally oversteering monster.

Apologies for failing to provide the huge smoky drift photographs, but this was the only example in the world and I had to sign some intimidating paperwork. As it was due to go directly from the circuit to George and Kimi, who would drive it to the Madrid GP the following day, I became unusually cautious.

What could the CLE 646 mean for future production cars?

Here is my central objection to the CLE 646. It is neither a hypercar nor even a supercar. Nor is it especially quick. A Nürburgring lap time will be announced soon, and I expect it to beat the BMW M4 CSL, which AMG will present as its obvious competitor. But that is not much of a contest: the CSL has 100bhp less and BMW made 1,000 of them. It also cost £128,820.

The Mustang GTD is the car it more naturally matches. Yet this will not get anywhere close to the 6mins 40.835sec lap it achieved recently. I would estimate something in the region of 7mins 5secs. It will also cost owners considerably more than the £315,000 Ford charged – a figure many of us already considered excessive.

Seriously? What will the CLE 646 cost?

AMG will not say, although estimates suggest around £600-800,000 – a price that can only be asked because production is so limited. This is not a car worth anything close to that. It is not a top-tier supercar and it is not a hypercar; it is simply a muscular AMG coupé. A few years ago, cars of this sort cost £70,000 and were within reach for many of us. Today, those cars are actually £35,000, and a 2018 C63 S coupé would, you know what, hold up rather well against the CLE 646.

So a car that was once attainable has been made unattainable. The enthusiast in me objects to that, and objects to AMG showing us what might have been. I suspect AMG recognised that danger as well. Which suggests it may have something planned for the rest of us…

We have a car that used to be accessible made inaccessible. The enthusiast in me resents this

Strangely, I thought, nobody at AMG complained when I raised the issue of fleet CO2 limits ending V8s. It sounds very much as if AMG can make the M177 Evo fulfil whatever requirements it needs to meet. Yes, we are already fairly sure it will appear in a new E63, but what about the C63? I do not have a crystal ball, yet that would be excellent: we would regain the car we want, while the only people left unhappy might be CLE 646 owners wondering why they had paid absurd money for a V8 C63 when everyone could now have one. Still, you cannot please everyone all the time.

• Photography: John Wycherley