Yesterday's shoot: Mercedes CL63 AMG

[cawimmer430]

And guess who got to drive it? 




The client gave me the keys and let me drive her car to the location to work my magic.

This is the standard 6.2-l V8 with 525-horsepower. The first thing you feel when you drive the car is that it doesn't feel sporty at all. The steering is pretty direct but not "BMW direct" and the whole car feels floaty and like a boat. Also, driving this car out of the tight parking garage complex was a chore. There's a reason why big cars are frowned upon here. The suspension is very sturdy and comfort-biased in my opinion. For a large boat this car certainly didn't have a lot of body roll in corners, but the setup was far from "track oriented". This is a GT car. This CL63 AMG only had 103,000 km on it.

This car is owned by an older lady - my neighbor (never thought I'd do business with her!) and she also has a big Boxer dog that always rides in the back of this car. As a result, I didn't take many photos of the interior because the inside is in a poor conditional state. Cut-up leather, wood and plastics from the nails of her dog, some buttons from the electronic seat control on the passenger side door missing etc. I was pretty shocked that she treated the car in this fashion.

I had a fun day with the car though. I didn't do a kickdown or abuse it, but I do love the sound of that V8 engine.



1 CL63 AMG Walkaround + Engine Start Up




2 CL63 AMG Drive

[cawimmer430]

First semi-finished image...

[cawimmer430]

LOOK!


Subaru BRZ!





Mazda Miata!

[CJ]

Only 103k km? That's a few, Wims. Also, once you get the ABC suspension in its sport mode, the ride becomes very firm, nearing uncomfortable.

[cawimmer430]

Only 103k km? That's a few, Wims. Also, once you get the ABC suspension in its sport mode, the ride becomes very firm, nearing uncomfortable.

I did say "only 103,000 km". 

I didn't play around with the functions of the car because I was wary of accidentally changing a setup on the car. It's pretty bizarre that the owner of the car let me drive her baby all by myself in the first place!


Some finished images!

[SVT666]

Why would she spend good money to have a car she obviously doesn't care about, photographed?

Awesome photos man.  I see a definite improvement in your editing.  IMO, your editing was getting to the point where I was starting to wonder why you even have a camera.  This is much better.

[cawimmer430]

Why would she spend good money to have a car she obviously doesn't care about, photographed?

She's a lonely old lady with lots of money (she's replacing this CL63 AMG with the next generation "CL65 AMG" if they make one) and a few weeks ago she asked me how my business was doing. I guess she wanted to give me a financial boost. 

Awesome photos man.  I see a definite improvement in your editing.  IMO, your editing was getting to the point where I was starting to wonder why you even have a camera.  This is much better.

Glad you like 'em. I didn't want to "overdo" anything here. More photos coming up soon! Working on a motion shot right now!

[cawimmer430]

Just in case you're wondering, the guy who built the engine is named Holger Fischer.