Lightning Lap 2018: Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S Coupe

From Car and Driver

Lap Time: 3:01.7

Class: LLTruck | Base Price: $89,445 | As-Tested Price: $103,300
Power and Weight: 503 hp • 4519 lb • 9.0 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, F: 265/40ZR-21 (105Y) R: 295/35ZR-21 (107Y)

Here’s the paradox of lapping these freaky perform­ance SUVs: They forgive the big mistakes, and yet the consequences of slapdash driving compound that much quicker. That curb you smashed at the apex or the two tires you put off at track-out are trivial concerns. The Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S coupe is indifferent to the kind of events that would end the lap for a sports car.

But to go fast, finding the right braking and turn-in points matters that much more in a 4519-pound “coupe” with the center of gravity of Dikembe Mutombo. Precision comes easily in the GLC thanks to powerful brakes and tight steering. While you might catch yourself tilting your head in a futile attempt to counter its body roll, it otherwise drives with the same intensity and competence of an AMG sedan. The GLC’s natural cornering attitude is understeer, but that’s easily rectified with a deliberate stab of the right pedal. And with the rear tires following the fronts, the AMG has a charming tendency to lift its inside front wheel at corner exit as it squats into 516 pound-feet of torque.

Stopping the timer at 3:01.7, the GLC63 S coupe lops 9.4 seconds off the LLTruck record previously held by the 2012 BMW X5 M. The AMG is smaller and 770 pounds lighter than that M ute, but don’t underestimate just how far recent tire, chassis, and powertrain developments have advanced the species. Landing in the top half of our all-time leaderboard, the GLC63 S coupe elbows aside the 2016 BMW M2, the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, and the decade-old 2007 Porsche 911 GT3. Ringing hi-po crossovers like the GLC around a track is simultaneously hilarious and impressive. It’s a made-for-TV recipe, and we’re ready to embrace the blasphemy. Bring on the crossover racing series.

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