AMGs dance to classic track

Mercedes has picked a great way of showing off its E63 and C63 sedans

Few road cars are capable of making the transition to the racetrack as well as these Mercedes-Benz models

Mercedes has picked a great way of showing off its E63 and C63 sedans

WHEN Mercedes-Benz decided to sell the road car it lent Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne last month, the phones didn't stop ringing. Doing doughnuts in St Kilda landed Hamilton in hot water and set off smoke alarms for Grand Prix PR but lit a fire under demand. At the auction, which was restricted to dealers, the C63 AMG fetched $7000 above list price. Not bad for a vehicle with 5000km on the clock and very worn tyres.

If you were one of the disappointed, then here's another idea: buy a C63 that hasn't been touched by celebrity and spend the premium on AMG's excellent drive days, where you can indulge in a bit of well-heeled hoonery yourself.

Mercedes has been running drive days for AMG owners for years, but it raised the events to fresh heights in 2008 after deciding to boycott the Sydney motor show. With the money it saved, it rented the Mount Panaroma circuit at Bathurst and flew in dealers, customers and media. They got a unique chance to experience Australia's most famous track in a variety of AMGs with professional drivers riding shotgun as coach.

That was never going to be an easy act to follow, but last year Mercedes achieved another coup: securing the Albert Park track in the week before the GP. A live F1 circuit had never before been used for a customer event. Anywhere.

It repeated the trick this year but added four days at Phillip Island as well, where there's more room to move.

Phillip Island lacks the showbiz dimension of Albert Park but qualifies on every other account. Nearly 4.5km long and in a spectacular setting, it's an Aussie racing showpiece renowned worldwide.

It takes AMG back to familiar territory, too, because this track was used for drive days when they were much simpler events.

Retired property developer Arie Kooyman is a veteran of those days and remembers when they were complimentary for AMG owners.

Now they cost $1950, but he welcomes the changes.

"It's really professional these days," he says. "You forget the price and remember the product."

For Phillip Island, the format starts with something traditional as the group of 20 is split into three to rotate through warm-up exercises. These are designed to practise different aspects of car control and will be familiar to anyone who has attended an advanced driving course. There's a slalom of witches hats to practise throttle control and play with the car's different stability intervention systems. There's an oversteer exercise on a section of wet track, where the idea is to induce a slide, then recover. And on the main straight Mercedes has set up countdown lights for one-on-one drag races against the clock. These test reaction times and skill in putting down power, especially when a downpour makes the track slippery. And they're all fun.

For most, though, it's the chance to have a blast on the track that's the big draw and here AMG has a trump: the experienced racers alongside the driver in each car make all the difference.

Kooyman, whose $800,000 garage includes two AMGs from the top shelf -- an SL63 convertible and CL600 coupe -- is no stranger to capable cars but says it's not all about speed. Professional tuition means you can focus on braking points and learning the lines through corners, as well as nuances of car control that help raise road driving to a new level. "You pick up things you don't think you pick up," he says.

The track sessions begin before lunch, with speeds initially restricted to 150km/h, but get serious in the afternoon with cars reaching 240km/h down the straight.

Promoter Felicity Kissane, who has an ML63 as the family wagon, says the speeds are one of the big differences between her first AMG day and a previous drive event, when they were restricted. And she can't disguise the thrill.

"There's only a couple of things in life that produce that level of adrenal hit," she says. "Driving is better than food and better than sex."

One difference between driving on the road and on a track is a sense of complete immersion in the car. There's no fiddling with the stereo or admiring the trim; the driver contact points of steering wheel and pedals -- and the way they make the car behave -- are the sole focus. The Phillip Island fleet of C63s and E63s come straight out of the box, unmodified for the day. All Mercedes does is keep the tyres and brakes fresh.

I already know these are comfortable cars with lots of fancy features, but they are heavy vehicles and there's nowhere to hide on a track.

Few road cars can make the transition.

They have similar V8 engines, with more power in the E63 to overcome its greater size and weight. It's hitched to a new transmission, too, with a seven-speed multi-clutch unit instead of the traditional torque converter automatic in the C63.

Both sound magnificent, but the C63 is the circuit standout with its more agile handling and better throttle response.

By comparison, the E63 sheds its road compromises more reluctantly, although it does feel extremely fast. One surprise is how well the brakes perform in both cars, with plenty of strength and no signs of fade.

Mercedes has taken advantage of the C63's track dimension with a project that makes it more racer than road-goer and hot laps with Mick Doohan (see below) are a reward for some of the AMG owners at the end of the session.

Kooyman and Kissane both miss out, but both will be back. "Great day, beautifully organised, nice people," Kissane says.

And what they both saved by not buying Hamilton's car will get them another couple of entry tickets.