In this episode, Thomas and his wife Helen showcase two modern classics: Their CLK Black Series featuring the first engine ever developed by AMG, and Helens classic SL, a car that, for her, perfectly combines comfort and nostalgic elegance.
Life With My Classic | AMG CLK Black Series vs. Classic SL By Mercedes-Benz
A 34-year-old Mercedes-Benz SL was supposed to take Thomas and Helen to Stuttgart. Little did she know that he had a ring in his pocket. However, they never made it there. Their Benz broke down on the way. Now, they own an entire collection of them.
Thomas drives a Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series. It has always been a dream car for him. So, here is his motorized dream, standing right in front of him, being one of the several cars with the three-pointed star log that he owns.
In 2006, the CLK AMG was the Formula 1 Safety Car. It was lower, wider, noisier, and more aggressively designed than anything else in the automaker’s street-legal portfolio at the time.
People saw it on TV and started inquiring, but Mercedes-Benz had to break it to them: that particular Mercedes was not a street-legal car, so it couldn’t sell it to them. They couldn’t just walk into a dealership and order one.
However, the automaker did the next best thing: it rolled out a street version of the Safety Car that they called the CLK 63 AMG Black Series, derived from that track beast customers had seen on TV, leading the race car pack. Little did they know that the name would become iconic over the years.
It came with a ton of carbon fiber, fender flares, restyled air vents, 19-inch light alloy wheels, and grippier tires. A motor racing-derived rear limited-slip differential and a reengineered suspension were also on the menu, making the Mercedes a race car for the road.
Thomas still keeps the sample of the previous set of rear tires as a memory of the fun he had with them. The rest was probably left on the tarmac.
Carbon fiber dashboard, door cards, and carbon fiber center console are on board. The rear seat delete and the AMG and Black Series badging prove it’s something quite special.
The AMG-developed M156 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 powers the model. It pumps out 507 horsepower and 630 Newton meters of torque for a run from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 kph) in 4.1 seconds and a top speed electronically limited to 186 mph (300 kph).
Those numbers made it faster at the Hockenheim than the CLK DTM and the SLR McLaren.
Was this really Lewis Hamilton’s car?
The previous owner of the Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series told the current owner that the one who ordered and specced the carwas allegedly none other than Lewis Hamilton himself. Thomas is a huge Lewis fan.
The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion did own a black CLK 63 AMG at some point, but the ownership remains unconfirmed. The French police confiscated his car one day for going a little bit too fast.
Thomas has no idea if that is the exact same car, but he can always ask the French authorities. He probably feels he might get a negative answer, so he delays asking the question.
It is, however, a car that demands respect. In a fraction of a second, the tail can go dancing on the wet tarmac, and everything goes south.
The Mercedes-Benz SL broke down before he even got to pop the question
Helen and Thomas are definitely a petrolhead family. Thomas’ wife, Helen, drives a Mercedes-Benz SL. Actually, they own four, and the one she has taken for a ride is the one they’ve had for the longest time. It is 34 years old and has no problems at all. Except for one time. That one time when it was supposed to run flawlessly.
Thomas chose the car for her after her previous car was stolen in central London. So, Thomas decided to surprise her with the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8-powered convertible Mercedes-Benz SL R129. Helen calls her Bluey. It was their first Mercedes-Benz before things spiraled out of control.
“You put your foot down, and it just goes like a rocket,” she says from the driver’s seat. Her car rides on Brabus wheels which Thomas put on a while ago. It was just another one of his surprises.
The Benz was part of an engagement plot, she confesses. She and Thomas left from London to Stuttgart in it a few years ago. He was planning to propose in front of the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
But things did not go according to plan. The car broke down in Belgium. So they tried to make the best of it. He took Helen to a museum on a very cold day. He had the ring in his pocket all the time. At one point, he went down a slide. When he got to the end of it, he popped the question.
It is obvious that Helen said yes, and here they are, collecting years and Mercedes cars together. She says she would never sell it and plans to keep it for as long as it drives. By the way she talks about her Mercedes, it sounds like she would not let go of it even when it no longer drives.
Helen and Thomas met at the Ferrari shop in northern London, where she used to work. He is a car photographer, but he worked at a detailing shop back then. “I might have been sneaking around in there a little bit,” he admits.
That is how their story started. They failed to get to the Mercedes-Benz Museum for him to pop the question, but they went there a zillion times after that. And every time they did it, they drove a Mercedes to their destination. None other broke.
