Lot Ended
Description
Ultra-rare
6.3 V12 AMG with 444bhp; believed to be one of only around 26 made; two owners
from new; advisory-free MOT; a unicorn Merc at a Shetland pony guide
price
Mercedes has long been a towering giant among car
manufacturers, with vast reserves of cash and engineering expertise that dwarfed
the budgets of most other makes. To keep ahead of the pack, they would always
have an exotic flagship model to showcase just what could be achieved when the
gloves were off and resources were unlimited.
In the late-1990s that
model was the C215 Coupe, a rolling laboratory of exotic materials and high-tech
driver aids, some of which might trickle down to more mainstream models several
years later, and some of which were just too expensive to replicate at scale. At
the top of the tree sat the CL600 V12, a silent giant in a Savile Row suit which
had a base price of around £85,000 but could easily cost up to £100,000 if every
option box was ticked (equivalent to around £225,000 today).
Owing to its
complex construction, a heady mix of aluminium, magnesium, thermo plastics and
high-strength steel, the C215 Coupe was virtually hand-built on its own
dedicated production line at Sindelfingen. It bristled with world first
technologies like Active Body Control hydraulic suspension, Distronic radar
cruise control, bi-xenon headlamps. and cast magnesium frames for the
lightweight aluminium doors.
However, lurking in the background was an
even more extravagant machine, the CL63 AMG which was so exclusive that it
didn’t officially exist. Based on the ‘standard’ CL600, it was produced for one
month only, November 2001, and could only be ordered from AMG
themselves.
While it shared the same naturally-aspirated M137 V12 engine
as the CL600, in the CL63 it was bored out from 5.8 to 6.3 litres which upped
the power from 362bhp and 530Nm to a whopping 444bhp and 620Nm. Mated to
5G-Tronic transmission, it dropped the 0-60mph time from 6.3 seconds to 4.8
seconds although the top speed was still limited to 155mph. At around £188,000,
the AMG version cost over twice as much as the ‘cooking’ CL600 model, this being
equivalent to over £400,000 in today’s money.
Only made available to
select Mercedes clients in Europe, Asia and the Middle East (America was
excluded), the CL63 does not appear in the official production statistics so it
is hard to say exactly how many were made. Most sources state that it was 26,
although some claim that it might have run into the low-40s, making it among the
rarest production Mercs ever made. Whoever you choose to believe, it is
definitively a ‘unicorn’ model and you hardly ever see them for sale
today.
This particular CL63 AMG sadly comes with no history so we can’t
tell you much about it. The V5C shows that it was first UK registered in March
2002 and the original owner was a Greek shipping magnate, Captain Leon Samonas,
who lived at an exclusive address in Highgate, London. HPI records that he put a
private plate on the car, V12 LDS.
In September 2004 it was acquired by
a Mr G Leslie of York who seems to have used the car extensively, the MOT
history online showing the mileage rising from 24,033 in January 2006 to 121,381
in February 2011. That equates to around 20,000 miles per year so one imagines
that he would have kept it well serviced.
Our vendor acquired the car in
June 2016 and has kept it tucked away in a secure warehouse as part of his
private collection ever since. He has never put the car into his own name so the
V5C still records just one former keeper.
In January this year the car
was lightly recommissioned and put through an MOT which it passed with no
advisories, the mileage at this point being 126,170, and it has only covered 24
miles since then.
As you can see in the photos, this CL63 looks to be in
very good condition for its year/mileage and has been starting instantly and
driving nicely on site, with bags of grunt from the mighty AMG V12 engine. Given
the prolonged period it has spent in storage, a precautionary check-over and a
thorough service would be advisable before any long journeys are
undertaken.
We have never seen one of these uber-Coupes before and it is
hard to find out much about them, even using the wizardry of AI. A proper
‘unicorn’, it is on offer here at a Shetland pony guide price and would make a
worthy addition to any discerning Mercedes collection.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907
– james.dennison@brightwells.com