Too Legit
to Quit
A MG’s E63 S returns with more power, more
gears, and a drift mode. _by Tony Quiroga
SEDANS WITH SUPERCAR POWER are common enough now, but
30 years ago, making a road bullet out of a four-door was a novel
idea. A MG further radicalized the notion by applying it to a prudish
and sober W124 Mercedes-Benz E-class, which may be why the
original A MG Hammer, a 355-hp supersedan that could hunt the
supercars of the mid-to-late ’80s, hasn’t let go of any enthusiast’s
imagination yet. Or, clearly, A MG’s: The madness of the original
Hammer is alive and well in this over-the-top E-class. And while
they aren’t called Hammers anymore, maybe they should be. “E63
S 4M ATIC+” has all the romance of a Wi-Fi password.
Mercedes-A MG made sure that its new E63’s credentials are in
order, as it will only be fitting the 603-hp “S” version of its twin-
turbo 4 .0 -liter V-8 to U.S.-bound cars, on sale this summer as
2018s. Other markets will get a base version with 563 horsepower,
but it’s presumably not Hammer-y enough for Americans. It
replaces last year’s 5.5-liter V-8 that made 577 horsepower in the S
version and is the same engine that rips in the A MG GT R [see page
096], the C63, and even the G-wagen.
As with the other versions of the 4 .0 -liter V-8, the E63’s is a
“hot V,” which means its turbos are nestled between the cylinder
banks to improve throttle response. For E63 duty, it gets 18.9 psi of
boost and new twin-scroll turbos that segregate exhaust pulses
upstream of the turbo’s impeller to reduce turbo lag. Like all A MG
V-8s, the engine is made in AMG’s home in Affalterbach, Germany,
where a single technician is assigned to each engine.
After driving the latest E63, it seems naive to have been at all
worried about the effects of the reduced 4.0-liter displacement.
Power builds instantly and hits every bit as hard from low rpm as
the old 5.5-liter. The 7000-rpm redline arrives so quickly in first
and second gears that there’s no time to gasp. Even past 100 mph,
the E63 flips the digital speedometer in clumps of threes and fives
like a supercar.
A nine-speed automatic replaces the
last E63’s seven-speed. Introduced in the
E300 last fall, the nine-cog gearbox is
strengthened to handle the engine’s 627
pound-feet of torque. In place of the con-
ventional E-class’s torque converter is
A MG’s wet multiplate clutch that can be
slow to call up drive when switching from
park or reverse, but the clutch pack does
cope well with stop-and-go driving and
allows for aggressive launch-control starts.
Shifts snap off with increasing urgency as
you cycle from comfort to sport to sport-
plus, and finally to race. Passing times
should be class leading as the trans-
mission cracks off multigear downshifts
immediately. Best of all, we didn’t notice[+] G o n z o
performance
and opulent
comfort,
all-wheel drive
or rear-drive
and anything
between,
sounds
righteous.
[-] Eve n
heavier and
more expen-
sive than
before.- CAR AND DRIVER. MAR/2017