Mercedes C63 AMG details

Mercedes has revealed more details about its flagship C-Class, the C63 AMG performance car.

Mercedes sticks with the 451bhp 6.3-litre V8 engine from the previous version, but fuel economy has been improved by around 10%. The saloon now averages 23.5mpg and the estate 22.9mpg.

The improvement in efficiency is in part down to a new seven-speed automatic gearbox which has four driving modes as well as a Race Start function.

Comfort mode provides gentler upshifts while maintaining low engine speed to aid fuel economy.

S, S+ and M modes deliver ever faster gear changes at higher revs. The 0-62mph time for the saloon is 4.5s, while the estate is a tenth of second slower. Both versions have a limited top speed of 155mph. An optional performance pack is available which boosts the power output to 480bhp, and drops the 0-62mph time by a further tenth of a second.

The outgoing car suffered from a very harsh ride, but Mercedes says the suspension in the new C63 has been tweaked to deliver 'greater ride comfort at all times'.

The interior has been refreshed, too. A new dashboard features an integrated screen, and there's a new three-spoke AMG leather steering wheel with aluminium shift paddles. Like the standard C-Class, the new C63 AMG has 11 new safety features, most optional, which use the latest radar, camera and sensor technology to combat the most common causes of accidents.

The new features are:

• Adaptive highbeam assist - standard
• Active lane keeping assist - optional
• Active blind-spot assist - optional
• Attention assist - standard
• Distronic plus - standard
• Speed-limit assist - optional
• Parktronic including parking guidance - standard
• Pre-safe brake - optional
• Reversing camera - optional
• Lane keeping assist - optional
• Blind-spot assist - optional

The car will go on sale in the summer. Pricing and specification details will be announced closer to the on-sale date.