Mercedes’ barking mad, and hugely addictive, E63 AMG is back, but sets off in a slightly different direction from its famed predecessors
Nitish Ramanujam

Think Mercedes-Benz and AMG, and you get surreal visions of torque dripping silver missiles with a philosophy more attuned to hooliganism than finesse. It is one of those intense relations that, like fine wine, keep getting better as the years go by. When founders Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher put together a race-ready 300 SE more than 40 years ago, little would they have imagined AMG to be where it is today, on top of the super sedan heap! Thanks to technology, mind-boggling performance figures are relatively easy today, but in an era when fast and fun were the sole purchase of supercars, the company went ahead and built cars like the legendary 300 E 5.6 AMG. Lovingly called “The Hammer” by fans and press alike, the mighty Benz was quicker than the poster car of the generation, the fabulous Lamborghini Countach, and was even capable of blitzing the 300 km/h barrier. Things progressed with the likes of the fantastic 190E 2.5-16 EVO II and 500E, and finally, in 1999, AMG was incorporated into Mercedes-Benz; a wonderful thing, as they were able to access the parent company’s resource pool and deliver top quality cars built to individual customer requirements right from the assembly line.

The E63 we have here is the latest in line of a series of high-performance, AMG-fettled E-Class cars. For the most part, the 5.4-litre M113 V8 engine, in both naturally aspirated and supercharged form, has been dropped from the entire line-up and has been replaced by the current 6.2-litre M156 naturally aspirated V8. Also, for a change, Mercedes and AMG haven’t gone over the roof trying to out-power the competition, namely the Audi RS6 and Cadillac CTS-V, both of which boast bigger horsepower numbers.

On the outside
Parked outside our office building, under the moody evening sun, the metallic grey E63 AMG garnered a few curious glances, mostly from passerby who seem to mistake it for the latest iteration of the bread-and-butter E-Class. Can’t blame them really, as AMG’s new super sedan looks very discreet even with a (subtle) body kit, wider front track, 19” five twin-spoke rims and quad exhaust pipes. Those with a sharper eye will notice tinted main headlights, huge cross-drilled discs peeking from beneath the wheels, bigger bumper vents, cooling slats on the edges of the front bumper and of course, the ubiquitous AMG badges. It doesn’t look nearly as butch as Audi’s RS6 or Cadillac’s CTS-V, but is a perfectly stealthy package with which to embarrass that Gallardo at the stop light.

The cabin
The interior is standard E-Class fare, solid and well laid-out if a bit sombre. You get nicely bolstered, electrically adjustable sports seats with improved lateral support and a four-spoke sports steering wheel with shift paddles. Look closer, and you’ll see that the area around the shift knob has been given the once over with an AMG selector lever with one-touch logic. Next to it, in the centre console is the AMG DRIVE UNIT, which provides adjustments for the MCT sports transmission, the ESP functions, the suspension setup and the AMG driving modes. High quality leather upholstery, AMG instrument cluster with an AMG main menu, door entry sills with AMG lettering and a brushed stainless steel pedal cluster are all part of standard equipment.

Under the hood
Now we’re talking! Engines are AMG’s forte and the hand-built 6208cc V8 is an absolute gem. True, many of you will miss the wonderful low-down kick of the supercharged E55 AMG, but this new Benz, like the current C63 AMG, represents a new direction for the company. While earlier iterations placed huge importance over pure straight line grunt and little else, new AMG products display a remarkable affinity for agility and corner carving, and this car is definitely one of them.

The E63’s 525hp and 630 Nm of torque, while not as ludicrous as some rivals, is still supercar league, and good enough to easily provoke the near-two ton family car into crazy displays of donuts and powerslides. The acoustics are equally top notch, the V8 emitting a loud bark on start-up, settling down into a deep rumble and literally humiliating the gods of thunder past the 5000rpm mark, where the E63 quits playing around and steps into full attack mode.

Power is transferred to the rear wheels via an SL63 AMG-donated AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission. So out goes the traditional conventional torque converter, replaced by a compact, wet start-up clutch. Almost DSG-like in its mind-reading ability, the throttle-blipping ‘box can drop down up to three cogs depending on accelerator and braking inputs, and the resulting, direct connection to the motor makes for a - dare I say it - fun and involving driving experience.

The stiff stuff
A couple of years ago, you bought an AMG for its straight line grunt and an M for its vast breadth of dynamic abilities. The new E63 still handles shy of the ageing M5, but make no mistake, it’s a marked improvement over previous iterations and shows AMG means business. The newly developed AMG RIDE CONTROL sports suspension features AMG-specific air springs at the rear, but Mercedes have opted to use steel spring struts on the front axle to keep things nice and tidy; the ride is a bit hard even on the Comfort setting, but it’s not uncomfortable, and you get a communicative front end as well as a nicely weighted and informative steering wheel.

A new, electronically controlled damping system automatically varies the damping characteristics according to the driving situation, reducing the roll angle of the body – though the 1840kg sedan does roll a wee bit when you charge hard into corners. The E63 AMG is also equipped with a dedicated front axle with a 56mm wider track, a tubular stabiliser, new control arms, new wheel bearings, new elastokinematics and new wheel location for more negative camber – thereby providing more grip when taking bends at speed. The rear axle likewise has more negative camber, optimised elastokinematics and a new subframe mounting for greater stability at the limits.

At the wheel
While not as overwrought as its BMW counterpart, the big bad Benz goes a fair bit in confusing you with its bewildering array of buttons and related settings. For instance, the ESP has ‘On’, ‘Off’ and ‘Sport’ settings, while the electronically adjustable dampers feature ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport plus’, apart from ‘Comfort’ mode. Similarly, the 7-speed ‘box boasts ‘Controlled Efficiency’, ‘Sport’, ‘Sport plus’, ‘Manual’ and ‘Race Start’ settings for you to choose from, the third and fourth modes banging off gear changes in a blazingly quick 100 milliseconds. The last option is launch control mode, serving to optimize the revs and make you feel like a hero when hitting 100 km/h from zero in a scant 4.5 seconds.

The E63 feels precise and biddable, thanks in part to the speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion steering which, with a ratio of 14:1, is 22 percent more direct than in the standard production models. Also, a more rigid steering column complements the reconfigured characteristic mapping of the speed-sensitive servo assistance to ensure better steering precision and improved road contact.

Ridiculous speeds call for exceptional retardation abilities, and the E63 proves its worth with an AMG high-performance braking system with 360mm, internally ventilated and perforated brake discs clamped by 6-piston front and 4-piston rear callipers. Covering the hardware are gorgeous 19” forged wheels wearing 255/35 R19 rubber at the front and 285/30 R19 at the back.

Our verdict
The new E-Class is quite a radical departure from the one it replaces and the sharp lines may not be to everyone’s taste, but find fault with the brilliant V8 or the E63’s newfound fascination for handling, and you have high chances of being laughed at. For those who think the C63 is nothing but a flashy toy and the S63/S65 duo is overkill, the E63 AMG fits the bill perfectly with sleeper looks and an arsenal packed chock full with mega firepower and dynamic prowess. Super subtle and multi talented - if this is the path AMG is treading with its new cars, we’re simply loving it!