GERMAN MUSCLE; Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG is a modern version of a throwback.

Byline: ROGER HART

A drive in a CL63 AMG through the Austrian Alps started us thinking about the few things in the world we can really count on: The unquestioning love of a daughter, the sun rising in the east, the Detroit Lions lingering near the bottom of the NFL standings and Mercedes-Benz's in-house tuner building some of the finest hot rods on the planet.

This latest AMG creation, which made its debut at the Paris motor show the day before our drive, is the seventh car (ML, CLK, E, CLS, R and S- see sidebar) to use the 6.2-liter (6208-cc) V8 that is the standard form of AMG motivation these days. In the CL's case, the all-aluminum creation cranks out 518 hp at 6800 rpm and 465 lb-ft of torque at 5200 revs. The engine is strong, with a 0-to-62-mph run taking just 4.6 seconds, pulling like a freight train up to 100 mph. While this is no surprise, what is impressive in this naturally aspirated beast is its ability to continue to pull up to the car's electronically limited 155 mph. If you want to go faster, you can order the optional performance package that raises the limit to 186 mph.

The driver can choose from three modes of the AMG Speedshift 7G-Tronic automatic via a console-mounted switch: Sport, Comfort and Manual. Each has different shift characteristics with Sport mode shifting 30 percent quicker than in Comfort, while Manual, via aluminum steering-wheel-mounted paddles, is 50 percent quicker still. Volker Mornhinweg, president and CEO of AMG, said he is pleased with the automatic's performance but hinted that a dual-clutch gearbox might be in the future for AMG models.

The two chrome twin exhaust pipes emit a muscle-car rumble throughout the throttle range, and when you lift off, there's a nice back-pressure burble that will have you on and off the throttle until your passenger complains.

Torque and horsepower in the CL63 are impressive, but so too are the steering and handling. In comparing the handling of the CL63 to the two base models of the car- the CL550 and CL600 ("Two Doors, Too Fun,'' Oct. 2)- there is more weight on-center, which gives a better feel of stability in a straight line. Push it into the corners and the weighting doesn't change from light to heavy as the suspension loads up. With 2.8 turns lock-to-lock, the steering has the same feel throughout the corner, continuing that feeling of confident predictability.

Contributing to that feel are some rather big Yokohama tires, 255/35ZR 20s in the front, 275/35ZR 20s in the rear, mounted on alloy wheels. According to Mornhinweg, this is the first time AMG has used Yokohama tires as original equipment.