The '97 C36 AMG with the same 5-speed AMG-tuned transmission was 6.2 seconds for 0-60 (gaining 0.2 second over the '96 C36 AMG's 4-speed transmission which was 6.4). See:
http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container.jsp?/overview/overview_engine.jsp&yearModelCode=97_C36&class=97_C&rnav=01234568&subNav=overview&menu=4_0&spec=3
Many folks have been surprised by the relatively small difference between the C36 and C43's performance (tho 0.3 seconds in a 0-60 is defined by Road and Track as "significant") -- the C43 is actually 100 pounds lighter but gains only 26HP and 18 ft/lbs of torque -- a compliment to what a good job AMG did with the C36's I-6 (e.g., compare to that era's 240HP M-3, which did have the advantage of an available manual transmission).
Per the [paraphrased] mantra of Colin Chapman of Lotus: "weight is the greatest enemy of performance and handling".