Mercedes C63 AMG, a Badass Benz Totally Built by AMG

On February 25 I flew into Phoenix from Baja, where I live in a 29-foot trailer in an RV park on the beach in winter. It had been a great six weeks, kitesurfing by day and writing by night--finished the first few chapters of my next book, the memoir I'm calling "Senor Madre." My sons Maks, 10, and Tai, 13 (the child stars, as it were, of "Senor Madre") were with me for three weeks each.

Phoenix was the setting for the introduction of the new Mercedes C63 AMG. AMG has been tweaking and racing Mercedes-Benzes for 45 years, and today runs the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team. With the C63, AMG takes over the total design and construction of the cars that bear its name--including the engine, chassis, suspension, brakes, and 7-speed paddle-shifting transmission. The car is hand-assembled at the AMG factory in Germany.

The cars will be sold at AMG Performance Centers around the country--and at the top of the list is the Roger Penske Mercedes dealership in Phoenix. Penske himself, straight from winning the Daytona 500 with his NASCAR team, was actually there at the launch.

The 6.2-liter AMG engine shares no parts with any Mercedes V8 engine. Each engine is built by just one man, and an engine plate bears his name. It's a 32-valve aluminum engine making 451 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, with a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds, although Car and Driver magazine has tested it at 3.9 seconds.

It'll get you to 100 mph in less than 10 seconds. It could also get you in jail in that time. What else could get you in that much trouble that fast, without leaving your chair? Besides a gun.