The battle for 4-door fast saloons is a closely fought one. It’s mainly the Germans fighting tooth and nail with each other to bring out the best of practicality and supercar performance. Mercedes-AMG seem to have an edge at the moment with the unveiling of the all-new E63 and the E63 S 4MATIC.
So what’s different in this new monster saloon? Well for starters, let’s talk about the engine. The 6.3 litre is out and in comes a 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 that makes a massive 612 bhp. To put all that power down and avoid shredding the tyres every week, the E63 and the E63 S now come equipped with the new AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive system. It combines the advantages of various drive configurations. Torque distribution on the front and rear axles, which until now was strongly rear-biased, is fully variable for the first time. On the transmission front, the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT (Multi Clutch Technology) nine-speed sports transmission is combined with a wet start-off clutch for the first time. This enabled more agile response times to be achieved. It’s quick too. With the Racestart feature enabled, the E63S hit the ton in 3.4 sec. The standard E63 does the same in 3.5 seconds flat.
The party trick however is the Drift Mode. While this won’t give you Ken Blocks skills, it will enable you to get the tail out without having to try too hard. The feature will be standard on the E63S and turns converts the car into rear wheel drive only enabling plenty of sideways action.
On the outside, there is no mistaking the E63 as an AMG product. Huge air dams to feed those giant intercoolers, massive 20 –inch wheels and tyres and plenty of muscle, the E63 cannot be mistaken for anything else. Expect the car to be launched internationally next year followed by an India launch soon after.
