By Xolile Hopa

Mercedes-AMG has just unveiled one of its most extreme creations in years: the CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung. The name is a mouthful, but it tells you exactly what you’re getting. “Spezialanfertigung” is German for “custom-made” or “special production”, while 646 refers to the car’s horsepower rating in metric PS.

A hand-built rarity

This isn’t a trim package or a sticker special. AMG built the CLE 646 by hand as a limited-production special meant to deliver maximum performance on both road and track, reworking the CLE Coupe’s chassis, body, drivetrain, aerodynamics and interior in the process. It’s the second model in Mercedes-Benz’s exclusive Mythos Series, following the AMG Pure Speed roadster.

Only 30 units will ever exist and, remarkably, every single one sold before the car was even revealed to the public.

At the heart of the car sits a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft, tuned to 475 kW and 850 Nm of torque. AMG paired the engine with a bespoke exhaust developed alongside Akrapovič, using titanium to help keep weight in check.

Perhaps the biggest change is what’s missing: the standard CLE’s all-wheel-drive system is gone entirely, replaced by pure rear-wheel drive sent through a nine-speed AMG Speedshift transmission.

Built to go fast and handle

The car isn’t just powerful; it’s dramatically lighter too. Mercedes-AMG says the changes shed about 170 kg compared to the standard CLE 53, thanks in part to a polycarbonate rear window and rear side windows, plus a smaller starter battery alongside extensive carbon-fibre body panels.

The suspension is a steel-sprung coilover setup with four-way adjustable dampers, while the widebody stance and aero package combine for serious downforce at speed. Mercedes-AMG says the figure exceeds 550 pounds.

Why it matters?

In an era of increasingly electrified performance cars, the CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung feels almost defiant: a small-batch, V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive coupe built purely for driving enjoyment.

As Mercedes-AMG’s chairman, Dr Stefan Weckbach, put it, the car exists because “highly rational engineers dreamed of a highly irrational car.”

For the 30 lucky owners, that irrational dream is now very real.