Channel4 - Driven: Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series

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We drove it on a big variety of roads in California, from twisty canyon passes obligingly closed off by the Highway Patrol, to long desert straights, to gently flowing freeways, to gridlocked city streets, and it was perfectly happy on them all. We also drove it on the Willow Springs race track, where it was a very pleasant surprise: not a full-on sports car, but far from out of its depth. And it felt like it would last a long, long time.

The Black Series cabin isn't really very special. To an extent you can address that by taking advantage of AMG's willingness to individualise its cars, but it's hard to shrug off the notion that the £24,650 Audi TT's interior offers a more pleasing combination of elegant design, functional layout and rock-solid quality.

We tried two different types of seat, both good. A near-race bucket is highly effective at keeping the driver in the right place: but even more impressive is the deeply padded, multi-adjustable seat that offers plenty of side support but also the luxury you'd want for old-skool AMG autobahn torching. The steering wheel is fantastic, too: chunky and slightly smaller diameter than the usual wheel, with a flattened bottom.

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On the road it's never as flickable and responsive as a Porsche 911, but it's ferociously quick to accelerate from any speed, helped by a revised final drive ratio for the seven-speed paddleshift transmission. The red line is way up at 7,000rpm - same as on the regular CLK63 AMG - but it's not a peaky engine. You can keep it in pretty much any of the seven gears at pretty much any speed and it will pull handsomely.

The stiff chassis and just-supple-enough suspension make sure the wheels always feel firmly attached to the road. The accurate, responsive steering assures you that you're in charge, with the thick composite brakes and recalibrated stability control system more than capable of bailing you out if needed. It's a thrilling car, if not as involving as less expensive cars such as the 911 and the Audi R8.

So, what is this sporty, agile, super-quick, super-expensive two-seat coupe? It's one of several ways into the future for AMG. It's not everyone's cup of tea, and not everyone's idea of £100,000 well spent, but it's a mightily impressive achievement and a lot of fun.

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