2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet | new car sales price

Mercedes-AMG's C63 S Cabriolet will arrive in Australian showrooms with a $179,900 (before on-road costs) sticker price, costing customers $17,785 more than its fixed roof sibling.

Mercedes-Benz Australia PR boss David McCarthy said the drop top is expected to account for about 20 per cent of C63 sales due to the already-strong performance of the existing sedan and coupe variants.

The C63 range – available in coupe, sedan and wagon guise – accounted for 1435 of Mercedes-AMG's sales in 2016, despite Australia forgoing the entry-level versions in favour of the top-spec S.

The arrival of the Cabriolet now completes the four-body C63 range, which all house AMG’s potent 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine.

The two-door four-seat convertible develops a bruising 375kW/700Nm, with power and torque delivered exclusively to its rear wheels.

Petrolheads will be happy to know the exhaust's volume can still be toggled between loud and very loud.

The sprint from 0-100km/h takes a scant 4.1 seconds, only 0.2s slower than the donor C63 S Coupe despite a hefty 225kg weight penalty for extra body stiffening.

The Cabriolet shares its seven-speed automatic transmission, electronic limited-slip differential (LSD) and four-mode adaptive dampers with the rest of the C63 family.

Petrolheads will be happy to know the exhaust's volume can still be toggled between loud and very loud, an important carry-over feature from the rest of the range.

The cabrio suspension differs from the sedan and wagon versions, sharing its set-up with the coupe, which is wider and stiffer to accommodate changes in body shape.

The C63 Cabriolet's fatter stance is in line with its wider track (+64mm front, +66mm rear) relative to a standard C-Class drop-top, with the convertible AMG's thicker front and rear guards creating a more aggressive look.

Braking is handled by 390mm rotors on all four corners, housed behind staggered rims (255/35 R19 front, 285/30 R20 rear). Carbon-ceramic brakes are available optionally.

For the V8-loving but environmentally conscious, the claimed combined fuel economy figure is 9.4L/100km with CO2 emissions of 220 grams per kilometre.

The sports car's top can be raised or lowered in 21 seconds at speeds of up to 50km/h and the roof is denser than the version fitted to the standard cabriolets.

A full Nappa leather interior, sports steering wheel with alloy shift paddles, digital television, heated and cooled front seats with an 'Air Scarf' neck warming system, satellite navigation, and a suite of driver assistance and safety technologies all come as standard.

Would you prefer a hard or soft top with your Mercedes-AMG C63 S? Tell us what you think in the comments below.