Mercedes AMG E63 S
Perfect executive sedan... with a drift mode
Remember the Lamborghini Countach? Well, of course you do. Edgy, packing V12 power and like nothing else on the road (or, your bedroom wall for that matter) it was the fastest car in the world in the ‘80s. Until it was beat by a luxury sedan. The Hammer, it was called, developed by the not-yet Mercedesowned AMG tuning firm. They started with a W124 E-Class sedan, threw out the six-cylinder engine it came with, and put in a tuned 6-litre V8 which once found home under the hood of an S-Class. With 375bhp, the AMG Hammer was one of the first four-door sedans to breach the 300kmph mark, also hitting 100kmph from standstill in a shade over 5 seconds.
Fast forward to the current day and that’s still quick. Though, the car we’re to get a brief taste of has moved the goalposts a hell of a lot further.
603bhp. 850Nm. 0-100kmph in 3.4s. 300kmph top speed. With those numbers, the MercedesAMG E63 S can, and will, shame supercars before breakfast, just like its forebearer. It’s based on the W213 generation E-Class that was launched in India last year, albeit in the short wheelbase form sold internationally.
In a white collar colour, like the car we were driving, it’s the small details that set it apart from the regular E-Class. What’s immediately apparent are the more aggressive air dam cut outs in the lower bumper, V8 BITURBO badging on the flanks, quad exhaust cut outs and a rear bumper that squares off the regular E-Class’ otherwise rounded rear. The flared wheel arches barely hide the widened track and high performance tyres on 20-inch wheels. If you think it looks perhaps a little too discreet, wait till the engine is turned over.
603BHP. 850NM. 0-100KMPH IN 3.4S. 300KMPH TOP SPEED. WITH THOSE NUMBERS, THE MERCEDES-AMG E63 S CAN, AND WILL, SHAME SUPERCARS BEFORE BREAKFAST, LIKE ITS FOREBEARER DID
It sounds like pure, raw, murderous power, with a deep-throated roar and all the pops and crackles on the overrun we’ve come to expect from recent high-performance German cars. Yet, somehow it still has a warbly rumble that makes one think of good ol’ American muscle.
The 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine (codename M177) makes more power in this E-Class, than it does in its other applications. Including the hardcore AMG GT R! With two revised twinscroll turbos, this is the most powerful E-Class ever. Helping all that power translate to the road is a new 9-speed automatic gearbox. It’s called the Speedshift MCT (for multi-clutch transmission), though it isn’t a dual-clutch unit. Instead it uses a single input shaft and multiple wet clutch plates for take-off. The benefits are said to be a more direct response and faster shifts.
Another first on the E63 S is the 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive with variable torque distribution, a huge difference from the largely rear-bias on the last gen AMG sedan. The front wheels can get up to 50 per cent torque to maximise traction in any condition. Though the real impressive feat is the system’s ability to fully disengage the front axle, making the E63 S pure rear-wheel drive. In the truest German fashion of calling a spade a spade, it’s called ‘Drift’ mode. We were asked not to engage it, presumably to protect the cars and the tyres. But it’s good to know you can be a hooligan if you were so inclined. The electronicallycontrolled limited slip differential on the rear axle certainly supports easier to control drifts, as well as getting better drive out of corners by matching
the speeds on each rear wheel.
All that tech means the E63 S is really, really good at making you believe it’s rate of acceleration isn’t governed by regular physics. For the most part, at least. Straight line performance is exactly what you would expect from an exotic sportscar and it’s only when you attempt to alter the direction of travel that you realise you’re in a 2 tonne luxury sedan. Our short drive in the car points to the E63 S feeling slightly front heavy if you charge into a corner. AMG have done a superb job with the steering though, direct and accurate as it is. As a result, you can still place all that hurtling mass right at the apex when you want to. And then, you step on the throttle midcorner, letting the rear LSD hook up and pivot the car, while the front tyres do their own bit. You’re rewarded with seriously high exit speeds, all without any drama. This leads us to believe that this AMG might just be the best equipped to be quick on the very challenging real-world conditions of Indian roads.
It’s hard to gauge a car properly with limited time, especially on a racetrack but we can say this - while the car builds speed unbelievably quickly, the optional carbon ceramic brakes make sure it stops equally quickly. You do feel the 2 tonne weight of the car, though. Especially under hard braking with the rear of the car squirming around. From our short time on the track, we found that the air suspension in Sport+ was firm enough to prevent excess lateral movement for a heavy car. We’d have to drive it on the road to see how that translates to ride quality.
Finally, the cabin is exactly what you would expect in a fully-specced out E-Class. It’s luxurious and finely crafted, with the sweeping central screen drawing your attention. Apart from 7 airbags, the E-Class also gets radar-based active safety assistance.
VERDICT
The E63 S has had the entire might of AMG engineering thrown at it, with the trick variable torque all-wheel drive and ‘Drift’ mode being standout features. One helps put all that power down safely, the other is to showboat. Heh. But, the real funny thing about a car like the E63 S is that, though it makes perfect sense in our country, most in the market for a supercar would buy something wildly inappropriate for our roads, just based on visual appeal. For us, there’s something more appealing in knowing your E-Class can dress down any Italian exotic between stop lights and still take the long, rough road home.