These two cars could hardly be any different. Yes, the Ferrari F12 is one of the few Maranello offerings that come with a front-mounted engine, meaning it's a lot closer to being a mere mortal than the rest of the Ferrari stable, but it's still a Ferrari.
The Mercedes-AMG CLS 63, on the other hand, regardless of what the PR department of Mercedes might tell you, it's a sedan. Yes, it has a sloped roof, but that's not nearly enough to justify the "coupe" part in its "four-door coupe" description. It is, however, a very fast car.
In its standard form, the CLS63 has a 5.5-liter V8 engine good for 585 hp at 5,500 rpm and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft) of torque. It also gets four-wheel-drive and an automatic transmission with seven gears, all of which is enough to grant it a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of just 3.6 seconds. Its top speed, though, is as limited as that of all other German performance cars to 155 mph (250 km/h).
Only this particular Mercedes-AMG CLS63 is far from being stock. If you paid enough attention to the picture, you would have noticed that even though it's not black, it sports Brabus badges. That's just for show, though. It has a full Brabus body kit, but what goes on under the hood has nothing to do with the Mercedes-Benz specialists.
That's where the guys at GAD Motors got involved. They did some magic with the V8 bi-turbo engine and managed to squeeze 990 hp and over 1,400 Nm (1,032 lb-ft) of torque. Coupe or not, that's an insane amount of power.
The Ferrari wasn't stock itself, and even though the tuning provided by NOVITEC is a lot more discreet, the F12 N-Largo wasn't that far behind. The 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine produces 741 hp (770 with the tuning) and "just" 690 Nm (509 lb-ft), but it sends all this to the rear axle alone, meaning the F12 might struggle for grip compared to the CLS.
Luckily for the Italian supercar, this was going to be a rolling start race, so a little of that handicap will be negated. Not that the V12 isn't perfectly capable of generating wheelspin at 50 km/h (35 mph) just as well. But have a look at the race (it starts at around 5:35) - the gap was so great, you can't really put the blame on traction or anything else other than the difference in power and torque.
At the end of the one-kilometer-long drag race (0.62 miles), the Ferrari F12 managed to reach a speed of 266.02 km/h (165.29 mph). The Mercedes-AMG CLS63 by GAD Motors, on the other hand, hit a top speed of 300.17 km/h (186.5 mph). But if the race were won strictly based on the soundtrack of each engine, the Ferrari would have been the victor by an even greater margin. Just listen to that high-pitched whine and watch the hair on your hand stand up.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News