Exactly man! I mean I would never deny this being an amazing car that shouldn't be pampered, but just as you said, it just thrives to be driven the was it was designed. I'm absolutely blown away by the chassis. Driving on dirt essentially is like driving it with half the grip meaning it has roughly double the hp, so you can really see what it's like to spin the tires with any blip of the throttle. It is also an excellent way to get to know the finite handling properties of the car. As I've said before, while the S2000 and this are quite similar on paper, on the road they drive extremely differently. I'll just leave this video here as it really explains what I cannot.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY"]The Mercedes C63 AMG Experiment - CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - YouTube[/ame]

I really liked that video. The low traction allows you to see how the car is balanced when it takes turns.

I think the better driving schools should have a mandatory unit on low traction handling with a car set up to duplicate conditions. Inexperienced drivers often have no idea what to expect when a vehicle loses traction in a corner. A lesser car than the C63 AMG would be all over the place. At least there were no curbs.

Is the suspension on this car able to handle dirt roads on a consistent basis?

It depends on the teacher that actually teaches you in the student car. My dad and my driving school teacher that taught at my high school both had us practice with the ABS in snow. Though the people who had driver's ed in spring were kind of screwed. xD

Hm...I'd really like to try the FR-S in off-road conditions now. I always figured dirt/snow was AWD only territory.