Horsepower for the discerning. |
| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre |
Shannonville Motorsport Park, Ontario. While Mercedes was kind enough to invite a number of journalists to this track to test their latest batch of quasi-supercars for the first time since 2001, the Gods of weather were in the mood to literally soak us to the bone with incessant showers. This small compound which is about two hours East of Toronto, is home to Mercedes' defensive and performance driving program conducted by RaceINC International. The track itself is one of the safest around and fairly technical for those looking to learn something about driving at speeds well above the legal limits.
In the beginning, 1967 to be exact, there was Hans Werner Aufretch and
 |
| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre |
Erhard Melcher. Both of them engineers, they revelled in making engines to make cars go faster. This was a simple desire to win races. The name of their company (AMG) comes from the combination of
Aufretch,
Melcher and
Grossaspach, the city where Aufretch was born. Success for the two was nearly immediate with a solid class win at the 24 Hours at Spa with a 300 SEL 6.8. The following decades brought more victories, more experience and more specifically, Mercedes-Benz's attention. In 1993, the first "production" AMG Mercedes was born as the C 36. By 1999, Mercedes had a controlling 51% interest in the company and by 2005, 100% and new name: Mercedes-AMG GmbH. As it stands now, AMG sales have been excellent. Canada, along with Japan, the USA and Germany are the largest per-capita buyers of AMG-tuned cars.
 |
| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre |
What I find truly fascinating, and I am sure that you will agree, is AMG's philosophy: One man, one engine. Each engine is handcrafted and assembled by the same individual, from start to finish. The Mercedes reps added that if 1 of the 41 certified expert engineers is sick for example, the engine that he was working on will only be completed upon his return. Every engineer then signs a plaque once the motor has been finished.
At the track, a long line of super-deluxe German muscle cars waited to be tested and tested hard. From the slick and compact SLK 55 all the way up to the phenomenal S and SL 65s. Throughout the morning, we were invited to sample the vehicles on the roads surrounding Shannonville, drive them through a slalom course, practice accident-avoidance manoeuvres and best of all, hot laps.
 |
| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre |
Because our time with these cars is so limited, I was only able to road test the
CLS 63 and SL 65. Both of these cars have outlandish engines which develop 507 hp and 604 hp respectively (more specs further on). Needless to say that on water-soaked tarmac, it was impossible to put the power down without being treated to a stability and traction control light show. Once under way, both cars would rocket effortlessly, and I mean as though they had wings, from 100 km/h to 160 km/h in a flash.
