Mercedes-AMG CLE 646 specifications: 646 hp V8, rear-wheel drive and 310 km/h top speed
Mercedes-AMG CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung pairs a 646 hp M177 EVO V8 with rear-wheel drive, coilovers and more than 250 kg of downforce.
Mercedes-AMG did more than simply install a V8 in the CLE — engineers also removed all-wheel drive, the rear seats and part of the usual equipment. The new CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung uses the 4.0-liter twin-turbo M177 EVO V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft, producing 646 hp (475 kW) and 850 Nm. All of that power goes only to the rear wheels through the nine-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT TCT 9G and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. The coupe reaches 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, 200 km/h in 11.4 seconds and a top speed of 310 km/h.
Rear-wheel drive is one of the biggest differences from the regular CLE 53 with 4MATIC+. Weight was cut with carbon-fiber body parts, polycarbonate rear windows, a lighter 12-volt battery, reduced sound insulation and the removal of the second row. Mercedes says the lightweight measures save about 170 kg, yet the finished car still weighs 1895 kg to DIN. That is only about 30 kg less than the reference curb weight of a production CLE 53, so a significant share of the savings from the lighter parts was offset by other structural changes.
The suspension is far from standard as well. Together with KW, AMG developed steel coilovers with independent four-way adjustment for low- and high-speed compression and rebound. The front carbon-ceramic discs measure 420 mm and work with six-piston calipers. Track width is increased by 60 mm on both axles; the front tires are 305/30 ZR20 and the rears are 335/30 ZR20. In its track configuration, the adjustable diffuser and rear wing, working with the underbody, generate more than 250 kg of downforce at top speed.
AMG even sacrificed familiar equipment in the name of weight reduction: PARKTRONIC, several driver-assistance systems and a number of comfort and multimedia functions are gone. There is no second row, regular seats give way to racing buckets, and the optional Performance Package adds six-point harnesses. Preliminary figures list fuel consumption at 15.8 l/100 km and CO2 emissions at 359 g/km.
Before the premiere, radical V8-powered CLE prototypes tested in places including the Nürburgring were often described in the media as a CLE 63 or CLE Mythos and were credited with roughly 650 hp. It is now clear that at least some of those cars belonged to the CLE 646 project. The new model officially proves that the M177 EVO can physically and technically work in the CLE body, but it should not be treated as confirmation of a future production CLE 63: the CLE 646 belongs to the collectible Mythos series and is hand-built.
At the same time, AMG has already confirmed that it will move away from the four-cylinder M139 in the midsize segment in favor of an inline-six. The CLE 646 shows a different route — a V8 without a heavy traction PHEV system and even without all-wheel drive, although the car retains a 48-volt integrated starter-generator. Mercedes has not promised to transfer this formula to mass-production models.
Production is limited to 30 cars, compared with 250 for the first Mythos model, the AMG PureSpeed. Every CLE 646 was allocated to a buyer before the world premiere, and Mercedes has not disclosed the price. For now, the more important point is not what this collector coupe costs, but the technical precedent: a modern V8 already fits in the CLE, while whether such a powertrain reaches a series-production version remains a separate question.