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AN ALL-wheel-drive supercar-baiting Mercedes-AMG E63 will soon arrive in Australia. We get an early taste of it in Portugal.
WHAT IS IT? The new E63 carries on where its predecessor left off. Being based on the still-fresh W213 Mercedes-Benz E-Class gives it the best possible start, with a brilliant cabin and a toyshop’s worth of standard kit. Power comes from a retuned version of the turbo 4.0-litre V8 that we’ve already seen in the C63 and AMG GT, with the S version delivering a mighty 450kW. The big news is the arrival of all-wheel drive – a first for right-hand drive – but don’t worry, there’s still a ‘drift mode’ that turns it into a pure rear-driver. The most powerful E63S will be going on sale in Australia around July next year, with the decision still being mulled over whether to also bring the 420kW ‘standard’ car.
WHY WE’RE TESTING IT Australia buys a higher percentage of AMG products against total Merc sales than any other market, with the new E63 set to build on the work started by its predecessor. The new car is faster than before – it’s the fastest production E-Class ever – but it also adds a generous dose of new technology, plus the dynamic stability of the all-wheel drive system. There’s still a big, loud V8 engine to provide huge performance, but Mercedes also claims the new E63 is more usable day-to-day.
THE WHEELS VERDICT AMG knows how to give its buyers what they want: huge performance, operatic soundtracks and all the comfort and usability of the Mercs they are based on. The E63 is an incremental step rather than a radical departure, but the arrival of the standard 4Matic system giving it enough grip to match its performance. Some purists might regret the loss of the old 63’s rear-drive character, but it’s hard not to see the towering appeal of a car that combines practicality with so much performance.
PLUS: Straight-line speed; twin-turbo V8’s vocals; comfort; drift mode keeps rear-drive hooliganism alive MINUS: All-wheel drive kills some character; some low-down turbo lag
Don’t worry about the new tech; what needed to stay the same is unchanged. At heart the E-Class remains a complex car based around a simple mission, with a big V8 up front supplying a surfeit of firepower. The engine is a developed version of the 4.0-litre eight that we’ve already seen in the C63 and AMG GT, but with new twin-scroll turbochargers nestling in its vee to boost power up to 450kW in the brawnier S version. That makes it the most powerful engine ever fitted to a factory E-Class – there’s also a fractionally less brawny 420kW non-S version, but that’s not yet confirmed for sale in Australia.
The engine pulls from the basement to the penthouse; there’s some low-down lag if you go looking for it, but left in Drive the new nine-speed auto is adept at kicking the turbos into life. At the top end there’s an entirely Affalterbach-appropriate level of Gotterdammerung as the engine closes in on its 6800rpm limiter, and even with the switchable exhaust in its quiet mode there’s plenty of V8 burble. Hands down, this is a more charismatic engine than those in the outgoing BMW M5 or Audi RS7.
Yet something has been lost in the transition to all-wheel drive. The last E63 stayed rear-drive in right-hook markets only because of Merc’s well documented cock-up in making its all-wheel-drive system incompatible with having a steering wheel on the proper side; in left-hand-drive markets most buyers took the 4Matic system as soon as it was offered. But the combination of a surfeit of power and a deficit of driven wheels gave the previous 63 a brutish character that suited it perfectly – happy to waft but requiring full respect when pushed hard.
There’s no official word on price, although we’re told the new car shouldn’t carry too much of a supplement over the outgoing E63; figure around the $250,000 mark with more standard kit including the full battery of active safety and assistance systems from the standard E-Class, including Drive Pilot. We know that AMG buyers tend to be looking for the fastest and flashiest but it’s worth pointing out that the new ‘entry level’ AMG E43 is pretty exciting in its own right, and comes with a serious saving. But as AMG has long since proven, nothing succeeds like excess.
SPECS Model: Mercedes-AMG E63S Engine: 3982cc V8, dohc, 32v, twin-turbo Max power: 450kW @ 5750rpm-6500rpm Max torque: 850Nm @ 2500rpm-4500rpm Transmission: Nine-speed auto, all-wheel drive Weight: 1955kg (EU) 0-100km/h: 3.4 sec (claimed) Fuel economy: 9.1 lit/100km (EU) Price: $250,000 (est) On sale: July 2017
