I’m following Bernd Schneider while he pretends to drive really fast around the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in his Mercedes-AMG GT-S. I know he’s only pretending because I’m keeping up.
It also helps that I have the faster car than the five-time DTM championship-winning race ace, who today is playing mother duck to a flock of writers here to experience the latest E63 on the track. His hard-core sports car has a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 3.8 seconds. The burly mid-size sedan I’m driving: 3.4 seconds. Maybe less.
Sure, the GT-S is lighter and lower and will ultimately top out 10 km/h faster than the E’s 300. But the E63 S has exactly 100 horsepower more than its athletic two-seat cousin: 603 hp, to be exact. And 627 lb-ft of torque. That’s for the S version, which is the only one we’ll be getting in Canada.
The 2018 E63 also has a new steplessly variable, all-wheel drive system that amps up performance driving like no AWD before it. Plus, it has two more gear ratios (for a total of nine) to most effectively portion out the efforts of its twin-turbo, 4.0-litre V-8 (which, newly for 2018, also has cylinder deactivation to help render fuel consumption marginally less horrific).
In 2014, the E-Class became the first AMG passenger car to offer all-wheel drive. With no other differences, the enhanced traction alone slashed a full half-second off the 0-100-km/h time. But, of course, in a 550-plus-hp car, AWD was also a safety fuse against tricky surfaces and/or ham-footed driving. How apt, it seemed, that the E-Class, arguably the most sedate-and-sensible member of the Mercedes family, would be the one to debut AWD on its AMG version.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that the 2014-16 E63 AMG was almost the ultimate sleeper, capable of out-dragging most sports cars without so much as a chirp of tire slip or a puff of rubber smoke. The fact that this hyperformance car was also available disguised as a wagon deepened the deception.
For 2018, however, two new developments blow huge holes through the E63-as-stealth-supercar concept. First, the race-start mode has been made more accessible. No longer must you follow an arcane sequence of button pushing and paddle-pulling to enable it. Now, you can use the automated drag-racing launch program any time the drive mode selector is in Sport, Sport+ or Race.
Here’s how. Stand on the brakes. Floor the throttle. Release the brakes. Wait about seven seconds for the speedo needle to flash past 160 km/h. Drive straight to the nearest police station and hand over your licence … But here’s where it really gets bonkers.
The new E63 also has a Drift Mode. This does require a lot more input to activate because, when you do so, there are no safety nets. The variable AWD system goes 100-per-cent RWD, and all electronic nannies go 100-per-cent off-duty. It’s just your right foot, 603 hp and whatever grip is available at the rear wheels – which, with 603 hp is never enough.
Three thoughts on that: The only other AWD car with a Drift Mode is the ultraboy-racer Ford Focus RS; I can’t believe you don’t have to sign a waiver as part of the activation process; and expect a sudden spike of Mercedes E-Class sedans starring in YouTube video crashes.
If you can afford one of these vehicles, you probably won’t be worried about the cost of replacement rubber. If you are, just remember that you don’t have to use Drift Mode or Race Start. You can keep them up your sleeve for special occasions. The rest of the time, you can pretend you’re just driving a nice, polite Mercedes mid-size sedan.
The E63 S is due in showrooms across Canada next spring.
TECH SPECS
Base price: TBA (2016 model: $113,800)
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V-8
Transmission/Drive: Nine-speed automatic/All-wheel drive
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): NA
Alternatives: Audi RS7, BMW M5, Cadillac CTS-V, Lexus GS-F, Jaguar XJR, Porsche Panamera 4S, Tesla 90D
RATINGS
Looks: AMG dress-up treatment includes a new front end from the A-posts forward; even the hood opening is a different shape. A subtle rear-lip spoiler provides actual aerodynamic downforce. Staggered-width 20-inch wheels wear 265/35 ZR 20 front and 295/30 ZR 20 rear rubber. The best part: It’s all pretty subtle. Most other drivers will have no clue what a monster you are driving.
Interior: A biggie was the optional Performance seat, which made the E63 the first new-generation E-Class I’ve driven with a just-right-for-me range of seat adjustment. The cockpit is dominated by the new E’s massive twin-12.3-inch screens behind a single glass pane, which arguably looks at odds with the otherwise organically sculpted dashboard. The AMG has its own version of the “virtual” Sport gauge cluster (one of three available) and can display such information as lateral and longitudinal g, engine power and torque, and turbo boost.
Performance: This thing is bonkers. I tried Race Start and consistently saw indicated 0-100-km/h runs in less than 3.0 seconds, 0-160 in less than 7.0. So unless the speedo is shamelessly optimistic, the claimed 0-100 time of 3.4 seconds – sensational as it is – may even be conservative. Toggle back to Comfort mode and the E63 can pretend to be a docile, comfortable luxury sedan all day long.
Technology: Drive Pilot option makes the E63 as close to a self-driving car as any on the market. That’s over and above the lavish suite of connectivity and driver-assist technologies you’d expect in any $100,000-plus sedan.
Cargo: The cargo volume is small for a mid-size sedan.
THE VERDICT
9.0
OMG.
The writer was a guest of the auto maker. Content was not subject to approval.