Mercedes’ uber-sensible E-Class big car now has a discreet-but-bonkers alter ego in the shape of the E 63 AMG.
The ‘63’ bit relates to its 6.3 litre V8 engine, which is electronically limited to 155 mph, but will fling this hefty car to 60 in 4.5 seconds, which is fast motorcycle territory.
Each engine is assembled by a single technician in a facility that resembles an operating theatre, and is spectacularly powerful, producing 525bhp. Despite having a lot of moving parts, this motor can be revved to 7,200rpm, and will switch painlessly from unobtrusive, easy-going town speed trundling to scenery-blurring mayhem, accompanied by an exotic, expensive sounding mechanical roar.
It does all this with great smoothness, but without a turbocharger, and is about 12 per cent more fuel efficient than the car it replaces (a combined 31mpg is claimed, but you’d probably get a lot less pressing on). Economy is helped by clever petrol metering systems and an alternator that recoups the energy that would otherwise be lost when the car’s huge brakes are applied.
The AMG’s efficiency is also helped by its seven-speed sports transmission. This works like a conventional, two pedal automatic, but uses a clutch rather than a torque converter – the latter would sap more energy. It can be manually controlled by a neat, short throw transmission tunnel lever, which employs fly-by-wire technology (expect to see this on other future Mercede s) or steering wheel paddles, and is both fast and slick.
The driver can select four modes, from relatively easy going to rapid fire staccato shifts, and the system has an entertaining party trick of sometimes automatically ‘blipping’ the engine as it changes down the gears, so that the motor and transmission speeds match, making for smoother, faster changes.
To help this big car get round corners, AMG has developed a new front axle, which uses steel springs and electronically controlled dampers. Its rear is air sprung. The result is decent ride quality for a hefty saloon with low profile tyres, but almost roll-free cornering.
The specially developed rack-and-pinion steering is speed sensitive and faster than the standard E-Class system, and accurate without being skittish or nervous. The result is a forgiving, confidence-inspiring car which is easy to drive on normal roads, although you’re always conscious of its size.
Given that most versions of the E-Class are destined to waft executives from meetings, or spend their lives as taxis, it comes as little surprise that both the boot and interior are big. With acres of dark leather and plastics, the cabin feels slightly dour, but the fit, finish and quality of the materials used all seemed first class. This is important, because the Mercedes came unstuck a while back with a well publicised fall off in build quality.
The instruments and controls are all painless to use, which is good, given that this is an exotic car with a lot of equipment, and front seat occupants can be entertained by electronically adjustable seat backrest wings, which can be made to hold their occupants in place when this car is being hurled through bends.
The AMG’s slightly odd-looking front lights automatically adjust to prevailing conditions, and the car comes with the expected shed load of safety kit, from traction control systems to things that warn the driver that he or she is letting the car wander about. There’s even a system to detect if a driver is getting drowsy, and the car will shriek and beep if it thinks things are going awry.
Anyone who considers M Power versions of BMW’s 5 Series a bit too brash might well gravitate towards this go-faster Mercedes, which is a sober looking thing adorned with some low key visual tweaks, including deeper bumper sections, discreet badging and enormous alloy wheels shod with big, low profile tyres.
They give what is otherwise a slightly anonymous big saloon an attractive visual presence.
As this was written Mercedes hadn’t fixed a price, but was talking about ‘under £70,000.’ That’s a lot of money for any car, but the 63 AMG’s buyers will be paying for something a bit special, and with UK sales likely to be under 100 units a year, quite rare too.
Model tested: Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG
Date tested: June
Road tester: Martin Gurdon
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