Some cars are fleeting. The CLK 63 Black Series is not.

10/17/2026

What's new: I drove the Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series on a California Highway 1 road trip.
Why it matters: I've driven this car several times over the past 20 years. It never gets old.
Edmunds says: There's nothing quite like driving a great car on a great road.

Last night I watched that old Top Gear segment where Jeremy Clarkson drove the Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series from his home in London out to the Welsh coast. It's wild to think that episode aired nearly two decades ago. Wilder still to realize it's been just as long since I first drove the Black Series myself.

I don't much care for Clarkson these days; there's a good Muncie Girls lyric that runs through my head anytime someone mentions his name. But I have to admit I agreed with Farmer Jeremy as he soliloquized over beautiful shots of a silver CLK 63 bombing across the countryside: "You can't beat the absolute joy of driving a great car on a great road."

My friend and mentor, the late David E. Davis Jr., spoke a similar line to a then-budding YouTube audience when we launched Winding Road magazine in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2006. WR was my first full-time gig in the business — I'd been a part-time intern and editorial assistant at Automobile before that — and it's where I got to drive the CLK 63 Black Series when it was released in 2007.

Compared to modern AMGs, the CLK 63 Black Series sort of flies under the radar. But those wide fender flares, carbon-fiber bits and proud quad exhaust tips cast an imposing stance for a 21-year-old production assistant who'd only recently been OK'd to take home test cars. It was one of the most powerful coupes I'd driven at the time, its naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 throwing down 500 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. I vividly recall how quickly its tail would slide out in corners, and how the carbon-ceramic brakes would squeal to the dickens on cold Michigan mornings.

Coming home late one night, I stood and stared at the red CLK 63 while I smoked a cigarette in my apartment's parking lot. (Look, I was 21.) I was obsessed with that car. And honestly, I still am. Twenty years later, I've driven a lot of great cars on great roads. So many of them were fleeting. But the Black Series stuck around.

When this Mars Red CLK was done being abused as a press car, Mercedes-Benz sent it to the AMG Experience driving school for use by instructors. Now, the CLK is enjoying life in the loving care of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Long Beach, California, where it's rolled out for display or the occasional test drive. I've been able to rendezvous with this CLK 63 on a few occasions all across the U.S., and it's been my ride up to Pebble Beach, California, for Monterey Car Week on more than one occasion.

I jokingly like to refer to this CLK as my Black Series; if you've seen a picture of it on social media, there's a good chance I'm behind the wheel. I've put thousands upon thousands of miles on this car, and as long as Mercedes keeps trusting me to do so, I'll gladly add thousands upon thousands more.

This year's drive to Pebble Beach included a bonus evening run down Highway 1 to Big Sur to catch the sunset. As a Los Angeles resident, I am of course biased, but I think California's Pacific Coast Highway is one of the finest roads in the world. Driving north, huge trees tower over you to the right while spectacular cliff faces shoot straight down to the Pacific on your left. You cross the Bixby Bridge and feel like you're in a postcard. Each blind corner reveals a new breathtaking view.

Back to the CLK: I realize that 500 hp and 465 lb-ft are paltry specs in a world where 1,000-hp EVs with 3-second 0-to-60 times are becoming the norm. But the Black Series' relatively analog experience hits me like a breath of fresh air every single time. The V8 fires up with fanfare. The comically small mechanical gear selector takes a touch of force to move. I don't have to fiddle with drive modes or disable annoying driver assistance systems. And in the best mid-2000s German car tradition, the interior reeks of crayons (that's a compliment!).

Driving a great car on a great road is cathartic. And driving the Black Series is like getting a drink with an old friend. Winding along Highway 1 feels like retelling our favorite stories from our past. Each corner is a familiar anecdote. Each gear change punctuates sentences like a sip of coffee in conversation. Each mash of the throttle a laugh.

Being behind the wheel of the CLK 63 Black Series is an experience I cherish. Twenty years from now, there's no doubt I'll feel the same.

Use Edmunds as Your Trusted Source

Make Edmunds your favorite search result for car reviews, prices paid, appraisals and inventory.

Get More Edmunds Car News in Your Inbox