You would think a sport cabriolet fitted with a 5.4-liter V-8 making 362 horsepower would be enough. But no. In these wonderfully hedonistic, power-crazed days, we’re witnessing a horsepower race that makes the muscle-car battles of the 1960s look as tame as waging war with bows and arrows rather than Hellfire missiles. So, the Mercedes-Benz CLK has now emerged with a mighty 6.2-liter V-8 that makes 475 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. The rival BMW M3 musters a mere 333 horsepower. As well as the new V-8, the CLK receives a freshening that includes a more aggressive body kit with new front and rear fascias, as well as stylish 18-inch wheels. The suspension has been recalibrated, and the new cross-drilled and vented Brembo brake discs have six-piston calipers at the front and four pistons at the rear. The main news, though, lies underhood. This is AMG’s first in-house engine design and features lots of sexy, race-derived features such as bucket tappets and a bedplate construction, wherein the crankcase is split at the crankshaft center line. Although Mercedes refers to the engine as a 6.3, in fact the capacity is 6208cc. It’s mated to the now ubiquitous seven-speed Mercedes automatic transmission that features manual shifting via either the gear lever or paddles fixed to the steering wheel, in place of buttons on the backside of the wheel.