The Manhart CRE 700 Aims To Bring The Soul Back To The Mercedes-AMG C63

With 671bhp and 752lb ft of torque from its plug-in hybrid powertrain, not a single person on earth could accuse the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance of being slow. A lot of people, however – almost everyone, in fact – have accused it of losing its character in the switch from a V8 to a heavily turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder.

Now, German tuning outfit Manhart has gotten its hands on the new C63 in an attempt to address the latter point. And while it was at it, it threw a bit more power at the car anyway.

Called the CRE 700, Manhart’s take on the C63 sees it gain a new ECU, which ups the four-pot’s power for a total combined system output of 715bhp and 826lb ft. This will undoubtedly knock a tenth of a second or so off the standard car’s 3.4-second 0-62mph time, although Manhart hasn’t provided exact figures yet.

Manhart’s efforts to give the emotionally underwhelming powertrain a little more soul come in the form of a set of sport downpipes for the exhaust system, which it says gives the engine a “significantly more powerful sound.” It’ll have to be very significant indeed to match the old car’s V8 rumble for aural enjoyment, but we’ll wait and see.

The CRE 700 gets H&R lowering springs which drop the ride height by 20mm, and Manhart will throw the questionable red-accented decal set at it, but thankfully as an option. It also has slightly larger Michelin tyres than standard.

Other than that, it’s the same setup as the car that rolls out of Merc’s factory. Interestingly, Manhart is currently only offering this for markets outside of its home nation of Germany, as the ECU and downpipes don’t meet the country’s strict TÜV approval rules. It says it’ll rectify this if it feels the demand is there.

If you’re not in Germany, then pricing hasn’t yet been announced, but expect a solid few grand on top of the £98,155 base price for a C63 saloon, or £99,715 for an estate. We’re still not convinced it’ll be able to revive the old car’s magic, but fair play to Manhart for giving it a go.