Sensational sedan
We rejoice in a first drive of Mercedes-AMG’s most powerful production sedan – the new E 63. Rob Maetzig files.
We drive Mercedes-AMG’s most powerful production sedan – the new E 63.
A$229,900 luxury sedan with drift mode? Absolutely. After all, this is the most powerful production sedan to ever carry the Mercedes-AMG name.
The car is the new MercedesAMG E 63 S 4MATIC+, soon to be launched in New Zealand.
It’s a superbly athletic sedan, powered by a new direct-injected and twin turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 that develops 450 kilowatts of power and 850 Newton metres of torque – enough to rocket it from standstill to the open road speed limit in a mere 3.4 seconds. And it has a Drift mode. What you do is move the E 63’s Dynamic Select into a Race mode, which prepares the engine, transmission, suspension, steering and ESP for highperformance motoring. And then you get into Drift mode by pulling both the + and – gearshift paddles towards you, which disengages the car’s 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive system so it is 100 per cent rearwheel drive.
You are then ready for what the law officially describes as a sustained loss of traction – and a lot of instant tyre wear. We’re picking there would be a lot of instant fines too, if the Drift mode was ever deployed to its fullest potential on public roads.
So did we try it out during the E 63’s Australasian media launch inland from Melbourne? No way. In fact we were even a bit worried the Victoria police might take notice of the joyful exhaust racket the sedan makes when Sport, Sport+ or Race modes are selected and the car is driven hard.
To the untrained eye this new Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+ looks quite a bit like a standard large German luxury sedan – in a performance-oriented way. And if the Dynamic Select is in a Comfort mode it even sounds standard, the engine note a fairly understated V8 rumble.
In Comfort the ride is comfortable as well, even though in that mode the E 63’s Airbody Control suspension is probably about the equivalent of a Sport setting in any of the standard E-Class models. But the vehicle is still perfectly acceptable for normal express sedan motoring.
But that’s not what the E 63 is all about. What it is about is that it gives the driver the option to select various performance modes that allow it to be operated as a true AMG.
Even better, as Mercedes-AMG GmbH chief executive Tobias Moers puts it, the sedan represents the biggest step forward the organisation has ever taken from one vehicle generation to the next.
And that’s despite the fact engine cubic capacity has moved downwards. The E 63 is so badged because originally it was powered by a 6.3-litre V8, which then downsized to 5.5 litres, and has now moved further down in capacity to 4.0 litres.
But this time around the handbuilt V8 is bi-turboed (with the twin turbochargers located inside the V to make the engine more compact), and this combines with a number of other new technologies to take peak performance to an entirely new level – in the top S version the power is up 20kW and the torque is up 50Nm.
As a result, the 0-100kmh time is the mere 3.4 seconds, and top speed is more than 300kmh. The engine is also fitted with cylinder de-activation which can turn it into a V6 or even V4 if conditions permit, so fuel consumption can be reduced. As a result, this AMG boasts a combined cycle fuel consumption of 9.3 L/100km.
But frankly, fuel consumption isn’t what the E 63 is all about. Instead, it’s about highperformance motoring – making best use of that magnificent engine, the AMG Speedshift ninespeed sports transmission that for the first time has a wet start-off clutch instead of a torque converter for very quick start times, and the first use of all-wheel drive via the 4MATIC+ which automatically varies the amount of torque going to the rear wheels from 50 per cent to 100 per cent.
And then there’s the drift mode... The Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+ goes on sale in New Zealand next month, carrying a recommended retail price of $229,900.
It will be followed later in the year by a lesser priced E 63 4MATIC+ – priced at $199,900 – which will be powered by the same engine but with the turbocharger wick turned down a bit so it cranks out 420kW and 750Nm. While this model will be less powerful, it can still complete the charge to 100kmh in 3.5 seconds so it will still be a very high-performance car.
It’s just that it won’t carry a number of S features such as the Race and Drift modes, the rear differential lock will be mechanical rather than electronic, it won’t have dynamic engine mounts that adjust the stiffness of the engine’s connection to the chassis, and it won’t have an AMG performance exhaust – but the exhaust will be a $1900 option. Arrival of these two vehicles adds to what is now a formidable E lineup from Mercedes-AMG.
It begins with the E 43 which at $166,900 has been introduced as the stepping stone between standard E-Class models and the really hard-charging AMG product. Then there’s the $199,900 E 63 which enters the realms of truly high performance, and the $229,900 E 63 S which is simply magnificent performance motoring. Andfor $248,800 a buyer can opt for an ‘‘Edition I’’ version of the E 63 S, which gives highperformance ceramic brakes that replace the standard composite versions, matt grey paintwork, AMG exterior decalling, and interior trim with yellow topstitching and trim. Quite a selection for well-heeled motorists who appreciate truly highperformance luxury motoring.