Mercedes-AMG CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung Premieres: 646-HP V8, Rear-Drive, Only 30 Units

Mercedes-AMG has unveiled the CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung, the second model in its exclusive Mythos Series after the PureSpeed. Each car starts life as a CLE 53 coupé and is rebuilt by hand at Affalterbach, echoing AMG classics like the 300 CE 6.0 'The Hammer'. Production is capped at 30 units worldwide, and every one was already spoken for before the official debut.

The name comes from the output: an M177 EVO 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance makes 646 PS and 850 Nm, now spinning a flat-plane crankshaft for sharper response. AMG has deleted the donor car's 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system in favor of pure rear-wheel drive through a nine-speed automatic with an electronic limited-slip diff, while the titanium exhaust was developed with Akrapovič. Claimed figures include 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and a 310 km/h top speed.

Weight-saving is aggressive: carbon fiber covers much of the body, the rear glass is polycarbonate, and the rear seats, sound insulation and parking sensors are gone, cutting about 170 kg to a 1,895 kg DIN figure. The track width grows 60 mm at each axle, KW-developed four-way adjustable coilovers and ceramic composite brakes handle stopping and cornering, and manually adjustable aero elements generate more than 250 kg of downforce at top speed. Inside there are lightweight bucket seats, a roll bar and an optional six-point harness package.