Not too long ago, I picked up Mercedes Benz DTM driver, Canadian Bruno Spengler from his hotel in Toronto. The first words out of his mouth were, “Have you driven the C63AMG?”

Sadly, I had to say no. Spengler told me that I wouldn’t believe how fantastic it was. He said the power was awesome, and it looked…cool.

Today, my answer to Spengler would be different as I have just spent 9 days, 6 hours and four minutes with the new 2009 C63AMG…and loved every minute of it.

To begin with, Mercedes took the new C-class and had it AMG-ised. While the basic shape is the same, the C63 – upon closer observation – has a wider front stance, which meant wider front flares. A new front fascia with all kinds of vents, and rear apron complete with diffuser insert.

It’s still very much a C-class, but the tell tail giveaway is the four pipes out the back and the two bulges on the hood.

The look is very aggressive with out being having a ‘boy racer’ look. It just oozes confidence as it sits there.

Inside the C63, the first thing you will notice as you climb in is the seats. The 10-way adjustable sport seats can be tailored to fit any driver. I really liked the way the back section moved in and out. Once you’re in them…you’re in them.

The C63 AMG also features aluminum studded pedals, AMG velour mats, Bluetooth integration, crash responsive NECK-PRO front head restraints and a leather wrapped sport steering wheel – flat bottomed.

Inside the controls are nicely laid out except for the position of the turn signals and cruise control. The cruise is in the position where you’d expect the turn signal switch to be, but it is actually lower than usual. This is the common layout for Mercedes models and until I got used to it, I was turning on the cruise instead of the signals.

Other than that, the navigation works great, one of the best out there, and the harmon/kardon LOGIC7 digital surround system sounds amazing…the five minutes I actually used it.

I didn’t use the sound system much, but I did use the window switches just about every time I got in the C63 AMG.