Mercedes' Red Hot Black Series

The 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series is a $135,000, limited-edition, road-ready race car

These are mean streets. Of course, the Streets of Willow Springs aren't your local neighborhood thoroughfare, but a tightly winding road course designed to challenge even the best race cars and drivers. So, what better place to test out the new Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series?

Launching out of the pits, we blast down the first straight, building momentum fast, as we fling the nimble little coupe into the first corner. The Streets are tricky and it's easy to set yourself up wrong, blasting out of one corner and into another, yet despite the speed we're building up, Mercedes' road-ready race car is surprisingly forgiving of mistakes and each lap flies by just a little bit faster—until we get the signal to pit and let one of our colleagues join in on the fun.

A proper introduction is probably in order. The base CLK is the German automaker's downsized two-door, sold in coupe and cabriolet body configurations. The CLK63 is the V-8-powered upgrade offered through Mercedes' in-house performance division, AMG. The Black Series is the newest twist on the two-door theme, a limited-edition, road-legal race car that could readily lay claim to being the ultimate street fighter.

The basic CLK design is reasonably attractive, if nondescript. In Black Series trim, it becomes much more of a visual standout. The flared wheel arches are the most notable change, providing extra room for wide, 19-inch Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires. A larger air damn, up front, also sports oversized air inlets, critically needed to feed air the coupe's V-8 wants to gulp down. Additional inlets supply a secondary transmission cooler. The exterior changes are completed by a carbon-fiber diffuser under the rear bumper.

Weighty Matters

Slip inside, and you'll quickly notice the absence of rear seats. The Black Series coupe makes no pretenses about purpose. Weight matters, extra seats don't. Once you're behind the driver's seat, you'll notice the unusual, flat-bottomed steering wheel. Whether it has any real impact on driving, we're not so sure, but it does make it a bit easier to hump in and out of the car.

Shifter paddles are mounted immediately behind the wheel, within easy reach. That's good news for those who prefer to run the coupe's seven-speed automatic in manual mode. The oddly-shaped lever that replaces the center console's normal shifter isn't meant to be used for changing gears. It's designed, instead, to select your preferred shift mode.

The Black Series edition truly puts the driver in control. You'll have the option of setting such things as ride height, shock damping, and even suspension camber, should you so choose.

AMG's street-legal offering also gets massive, track-ready, composite brake discs, the ones up front measuring 14.2-inches, the rears a still sizable 13.0-inches. Considering what this beautiful beast is capable of, you'll need plenty of stopping power.

There are relatively few big changes to the standard CLK63's engine. The Black Series' sport exhaust bumps the pony count up from 475 to an even 500 hp, while a limited-slip differential ensures the car sticks to the tarmac.

Fire it up, and the Black Series coupe settles into a confidence-inspiring burble that makes you anxious to get out on the track. The throttle is intuitively responsive, to the point where it feels like a natural extension of your own foot. Flat out on the Streets of Willow, 0-60 times fly by in barely 4.1 seconds. Mercedes officials reveal they've electronically limited the top end to 186 mph.