ENTER the beauty and the beast - some 16 feet of sensuous coupe packing a monster twin turbo V8 under the bonnet.

With two months still to go before the new Mercedes CLS goes on sale, the master mechanics at AMG have released their take on this exclusive style machine.

Pumping out 525bhp - 557 if you go for a performance pack - the CLS AMG is amazingly quick.

Top speed is electrically restricted at a smidgen over 155mph but it will blast from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds.

There is even a launch control to maximise its credentials such is its racing car lineage.

And the noise from the quad exhaust arrangement as the CLS struts its stuff is one of the best thrills in the game.

Despite being dubbed the CLS AMG 63 the engine is a 5.5-litre - hand built by the AMG engineers in their Affalterbach workshops near Stuttgart in Germany.

It is the same engine that features in the latest AMG versions of the Mercedes S-Class and CL models replacing the earlier 6.2-litre V8 which earned a fearsome reputation as the most powerful normally aspirated engine to be fitted in a production car.

But in the name of efficiency AMG is using turbos - two of them - to make the new V8 sip 32 per cent less fuel while retaining all of its venom.

Officially the bi-turbo V8 can average 28.5 miles to the gallon - nothing short of incredible given the performance of the CLS - while emissions are a sanitised 231g/km, helped by a stop/start system which is a feature of one of the four pre-programmed transmission modes.

Yet it is the way that the CLS AMG goes about its business which will endear even the most demanding of drivers.

The work AMG has put into the chassis has pushed what was already a fine and responsive car to a new dimension.

Air suspension on the rear, steel at the front, a wider track and three electric ride settings enable the AMG to adapt with startling rapidity to whatever is thrown at it.

And the feedback through the electro-mechanical power steering is so communicative you feel you are guiding every inch of progress with surgical precision.

Apparently the AMG test team spent three days and nights - and more than 20 sets of tyres - blasting around the Nurburgring to fine tune the steering. It was rubber well burned.

In so many ways this car excels - from the body-hugging sports seats to the elliptical alcantara and leather steering wheel there's a very special feel to being in the driving seat.

Classic features such as a rectangular analogue clock on the dash are combined with high tech instruments while the gear lever has been recrafted by AMG to incorporate its company crest embossed into the leather.

The seven speed auto box can be switched from eco mode to sports setting to manual to get the best from the powertrain as conditions dictate.

Use the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters to maximum effect and the response is very rapid fire. Engage eco mode around town and the AMG is as docile as a lamb.

Safety aids such as active blind spot and lane keeping alerts bring the car back on line automatically should it stray towards danger while a driver fatigue monitor is also fitted.

The CLS is purely a four seater but with a boot of 520 litres it has all the essentials of a wonderful grand tourer in the spirit of some of the greatest supercars.

It is likely to cost in the region of £80,000 when it goes on sale in July pitching it against the likes of the Porsche Panamera and the BMW M6 - but this AMG has a cachet all of its own.

The super sleek shape which put the original CLS into a very individual niche as a four door luxury coupe have been given more definition with some pronounced body lines in the latest model.

The AMG treatment embellishes that adding extra air intakes at the front, carbon fibre at the back, a slight bulge to accommodate 19-inch alloys while a pronounced front grille flanked by LED headlights give the car an unforgettable face.

Seldom have so many disciplines combined to push a car to the limits of finesse.

The CLS AMG blends technology and style in such compelling fashion that those who demand the best will be knocked out by what this car has to offer.