2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 Cabrio Lands in New York

There's no better way to hear that sweet, sweet V8.
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AMG’s bombastic sports cars have always been about speed, sure, but they’re also about sound. Raw, throaty noises, ones that come pouring out of their tailpipes along with carbon dioxide and the other remnants of combusted gasoline. So while the 2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 Cabriolet may give up a tiny bit of ultimate performance, it’s got its coupe brother licked in terms of licking up that sweet, sweet engine note.

Then again, it doesn’t give up that much performance. Packing the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 as the C63 coupe and sedan, the cabrio makes the same amount of power—469 horses and 479 pound-foot in the “base” C63, or 503 hp and 516 lb.–ft. in the C63 S. That’s enough to move the C63 S cabrio from 0–60 in 4 seconds flat, according to Mercedes, with the non-S version only a tenth behind. Both are only a tenth of a second slower than the sedan version. Which seems like a perfectly fine compromise in the name of top-down motoring.

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And, just like the sedan and coupe, all that power is routed solely to the rear wheels via seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, passing through either a mechanical (base) or electronically-controlled (C63 S) limited-slip diff, en route to meaty, 285-section tires. Just as on the sedan and coupe, the S-model of the C63 Cabriolet picks up a few other tasty goodies to justify its higher price tag. Those include magnetorheological engine mounts, bigger brakes, and a higher top speed of 174 mph. Non-S C63 Cabriolets will ram into the governor at a mere 155.

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Since it’s a full-bore AMG model and not one of those smaller caliber V6-powered 43s, the C63 scores the full monty of visual upgrades. Twin-spine grille, buff fender flares, a hood with dual power domes, and honking’ quad exhaust pipes. Top up, it looks every bit like a coupe in profile; top down, it has the same sexy automotive-powerboat appearance as the other C-Class cabrios. And, like the C300 and C43, the C63 Cabriolet comes with standard neck-warming technology and the optional wind deflector, dubbed AIRCAP. That’ll come in handy, since the C63 Cabriolet won’t be hitting the U.S. showrooms until fall. We don’t mind. Hard to think of a better way to do some leaf-peeping than in a drop-top AMG with exhaust singing.

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