Is a AMG c class a supercar brand?

[Dizwen]

just curious, what do you think?

AMG performance is in super car numbers, 0-60 in less than 5 seconds etc...

insurance is group 20, warranty companies class AMG in with ferrari, porsche etc, yet C class AMG gets mentioned in the same sentance as BMW M sport cars. personally I don't think of M3s or M5s as supercars so where does that leave AMG?

I'd class an SL AMG as a super car, but a c class AMG?

...I think it is a supercar brand by the way, just a discussion we ended up having in the pub, as you do...

 

[Palmball]

Its a strange one this as individual perceptions of what a 'Supercar' is will differ greatly.

I'd love to see my C63 as a Supercar but in reality, despite near-Supercar performance, it is ultimately just a very fast, expensive and well engineered C-Class. A car who's basic design is similar to a £25k C180. Therefore, no matter how outrageous it is, I couldn't see it as a genuine supercar....it's just not exotic enough.

Indeed, before my C63 I owned a BMW M6 which really did have supercar-bashing performance - I remember a brand new Aston DBS being no quicker and thats currently Aston's finest! It was also very nicely made, had a wonderful leather and alcantara interior but again, I never really saw it as a Supercar...again, I'll say that word and say that it just wasn't exotic enough.

Also, before buying my new C63, I did look at an Aston V8 Vantage and that looked like a Supercar and it had that 'sense of occasion' about it....indeed, that was a car that really was exotic! But, as anyone who read the posts about my experience will know, it just wasn't as good a car as the much more ordinary C63 - indeed, a C63 would annihilate 4.3 V8 Vantage in terms of performance, build quality and probably overall engineering integrity.

 

[matt17081]

Whilst both are superb motor cars, in my opinion neither should be classed as "supercars" for a number of reasons, firstly performance quick yes but not when compared to something like a Bentley Continental GT, Maclaren SLR or something like an F50 ferrari or indeed most of the Lamborghini's and secondly down to exclusivity

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I agree with Palmball. AMGs offer near supercar performance, but aren't necessarily supercars. The one exception being the SLS.

To be a true supercar then there are two main criteria IMHO:

The car must have been designed to be a supercar, not mainstream.

The car must have featured in at least three posters from Athena with black/red, black/black, or black/white colour schemes, and hung on bedroom walls of at least 50% of the UK population of boys under 16.

 

[wemorgan]

Supercars, like Superstars need to be prima donnas, arriving late for the show a bit drunk but still looking fabulous.

The C63 is just too well behaved.

 

[Charles Morgan]

A supercar just is. Like the definition of art versus pornography, you know it when you see it.

 

[Will]

Agree with the others - I don't think any of the current/recent AMG cars are supercars at all.

The SLS - possibly close, and I guess the SLR are the only contenders that spring to mind?

In fact - looking away from MB, not sure that there's many (any?) regular saloon cars that you'd call supercars. It's not just the performance figures that make a supercar.

IMHO

Will

 

[BTB 500]

Agree with all the above. I'd love a C63 or C55, but ultimately it's still just a C Class.

 

[Gareth]

Definitely not a supercar. A super car, but not a supercar

 

[Superted]

It is nearly a supercar in terms of performance. At the end of the day it is just a very fast Saloon.

IMHO i would say it is the next level down from supercars which isnt too bad!!

Cannot wait to have mine. I was looking at a Porsche as an alternative to getting a C63 and decided that the C63 brought more to the table in alot of ways.

I will one day get a Porsche (fingers crossed) but with owning one i feel i will always need a second car where as with a C63 I dont.

 

[Gridlock]

I believe technically the SLR would be a hypercar*, if you use the 200mph rule of thumb. Or the "it costs how bloody much?" one.

(*) Carrera GT, Enzo, Zonda, that lot.

I've seen it said a few times the AMG C Class' are more of a muscle car than anything else, I'm quite happy with that characterisation - mass produced saloon with something special hidden in it and a V8 soundtrack...

 

[chiefski26]

my c63 feels like a supercar every time i drive it but as above its only a super car

 

[bpsorrel]

I don't think a supercar is, or should be, practical! When I think of supercars, I think of outrageous sports cars - unreliable (probably), extremely fast (usually), stunning to look at - the type of car that makes you stop and stare when you see one! Based on that, an AMG C Class cannot be a "supercar", but it is as Gareth said, a super car!

 

[chiefski26]

palmball when do you get your new toy ?

 

[trando]

Agree with several of the posters here. I love my C55 and I love it's 'super' performance, but I don't consider it as a 'supercar'. C55s are Q cars - most people probably wouldn't be able to tell it apart from a regular C Class. And that's the issue - to be a 'supercar' it has to stand out from the crowd. Consider your typical supercar over the years - Lambos, Ferraris, Astons etc - they all stand out as such.

That's not to say that there aren't any AMGs that aren't supercars - as someone has already mentioned -the SLS should be classed as one.

 

[stumpy1]

A supercar should cost at least 100k IMO.

 

[Gridlock]

Actually, I'd say that the first time you spend £3K on a service you should be allowed in the club

 

[Oily Rag]

I would like to say, that imho most of the cars that have been mentioned would receive only GT status in my book, and that includes the SLS,SLR,Aston etc, after all thats all they are, Grand Tourers, now a car built for the track and sold as a road car (with the required mods), I would class this a supercar. What do you think. Its only my opinion.
p.s. all bmw's should be regarded as saloon cars.

 

[stumpy1]

The SLR is a supercar. Very expensive, made of Carbon, fast, sense of theatre, funny doors, tricky to use every day etc...

The only thing I find disappointing is the switchgear inside. Oh and the key

 

[lostinvegas]

Its a difficult one, with MB and BMW both having a large presence in F1 I can see why people talk about some of their cars being supercars. To me they are prestige car manufacturers and people like Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche are supercar manufacturers.

Of course you get cars like the Nissan GTR or Honda NSX which are probably supercars, or Ford GT.

Its a bit of a blured line.

I would say AMG's are the performance models of a normal range of car. To be a supercar I don't think you can have a "normal range".

Chris