Review: Mercedes-AMG E63S... the saloon that sportscars fear

Welcome to the world of AMG, purveyors of flabbergastingly powerful saloons and estates, which no one actually needs, but many, it appears, desire. It's a German thing; BMW has its M5, Audi its RS6 and Mercedes its E 63 S 4Matic+, which goes on sale with its slightly cheaper and less powerful sister, next March in saloon and estate forms. So think about an engine bay brimming with a twin-turbocharged, hand-built, four-litre V8 and inlet-charge coolers. The numbers are terrifying. In this £83,000 S model, the Borg Warner twin-scroll turbos boost up 1.5 Bar delivering 604bhp and 627lb ft of torque, which means a top speed limited to 155mph, 0-62mph in 3.4sec and a Combined fuel consumption of 31mpg - on test we scraped just 11.7mpg. It's the fastest AMG they've ever built and given its lairy predecessors, that's some claim. Hand over another £3,300 and after a driving course at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands, they'll yank the limiter up to 186mph, which is still limited since there's some doubt about tyre longevity for this 1.9-tonne saloon above that speed.

So far, so normal for AMG, the formerly independent motorsport tuning company from Affalterbach, Germany, which celebrates its half century next year. Specialising in Mercedes-Benz with gargantuan engines and performance, by 1999, Mercedes threw in the towel trying to compete and bought the company. These days AMG is a trim level as well as a series of top-shelf-material performance derivatives, but it's still fiercely independent. It's a measure of its expertise and dedication that the division is now in charge of all Mercedes V8 engine development.

So while the engine is based on Mercedes-Benz's production V8, it has enough motorsport-derived goodies to make it an authentic AMG product, such as a closed-deck block, slipper pistons, exhaust and turbos in the centre of the vee with inlets on the outside, and cracked connecting rods to add strength to the big-end bearings.

The four-wheel-drive transmission is based on Mercedes's own nine speed (the first time it has been able to handle this much torque), with AMG's four-plate wet clutch in place of the torque converter to speed up response. The 4x4 system has a rear limited-slip differential and a multi-plate clutch in the centre, which moves torque between front and rear axles according to yaw, speed, slip, steering angle and so on. It loosens off in a straight line to save fuel (along with the cylinder deactivation system, which switches out four of the eight cylinders) and allows the front wheels to roll into tighter, faster corners so as not to induce straight-on tendencies, only feeding it to the front on the bend's exit. In extremes, the system will divide the torque up to 50/50 per cent front to rear and there's even a 'drift' mode where the car effectively becomes rear driven.

The coachwork is largely based on this year's highly lauded new E-class, but with a wider track and more space under the arches for the 20-inch wheels and tyres. The front is smoothed off and festooned with air intakes.

Inside the AMG builds on the loveliness of this year's new E-class, with mixed results. What works is the classy looking co-joined screens with the centre console merging with the instrument binnacle. No touch screens here as Mercedes doesn't believe in them, but the steering wheel proximity switches, coupled with the centre capstan control, work reasonably well, although they take some learning. The seats are beautifully supportive, but the cushions are thin and uncomfortable for long distances, which is partly the point of the car. And was it a sense of mischief that made AMG stitch an auto tester's mark at the top of the steering wheel? Please tell me you aren't going to get this car so crossed up on a public road that you'll need reminding of where straight ahead is.

Start her up and the engine booms gently. There's a progressively louder, harder and faster set of modes, but with everything off, this is a surreal experience of wafting along, barely any revs on the clock, the engine burbling and the impression of colossal power at your finger tips, just waiting...

Mash the throttle and you'll need to up your game quickly. The rush of acceleration simply doesn't stop and you need to react fast to traffic conditions. It's perfectly possible to be doing twice the national speed limit in less time than it takes to read this sentence, so you need to temper your right foot if you plan on keeping your license. There's also a sense of being a passenger, as there's not a huge amount of feedback to the controls and the cornering limits are so high that you'd never approach them on the road at least.

Out on the circuit where the E63 can be danced nearer its limits, it impresses even more. The turn-in to corners is uncannily fast and precise, which many lighter and supposedly more agile sports saloons would struggle to match. You'd expect nose-on understeer, but the E63 is better than that and with gentle encouragement, tracks a faithful line round the corner. That's in part because of the cleverness of the four-wheel-drive system and the active engine mounts, but those sticky Pirelli P-Zero tyres play their part and you'd be through a set quickly on a full-blooded track day. There's so much power of course, that you can slide this near five-metre long car sideways and punt the tail out on corner exits. It's terrific fun of course, but I can't help thinking that the most impressive thing about this car is its sense of latent power and agility. Previous AMG's have been all Sturm und Drang but without much handling, this car proves you can have both, but you don't always need to use it.

After this year's deeply impressive and very grown up E-class, AMG's E63 version might just be the most hilarious car of next year. 

Photography by Richard Newton