Mercedes Benz S63 AMG Officially Revealed
The Mercedes Benz S63 AMG has finally landed, and officially this time. Mercedes Benz gifted the world an unofficial and unintentional peek at the high performance variant of its flagship luxury sedan last month but the German automaker has now released photographs ahead of a planned public debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September.
Mercedes Benz seems to be pacifying the exteriors of its high performance AMG range of late. The 2014 CLA45 AMG and E63 AMG seemed slightly restrained as compared to earlier models, and the S63 AMG has gone down a similar route. There’s a new front apron and splitter, side sill panels with 3D inserts in silver chrome, a black rear diffuser with chrome trim and a pair of twin exhaust pipes. “Twin-turbo V8” badges along its flanks and lots of AMG badges both outside and inside more or less sum up the the features visually distinguishing it from the base “non-AMG” variants.
The list of features distinguishing it mechanically however, goes on for a while. It’s powered by the same twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 which is found in other big AMGs like the E63 and CLS63. The unit produces 585bhp and a massive 900Nm of torque. That makes it faster than a manual Porsche Carrera 911 4S in terms of acceleration, and that makes it properly quick. The twin-turbo engine is hand-built by one man – as is written in AMG’s rules – and comes with an aluminium crankcase, direct injection, an air-to-water intercooler, and a lightweight composite oil pan.
A new AMG sports exhaust is found in the powertrain as well. It has special flaps that automatically open and close depending on the transmission selection on the seven-speed gearbox. In ‘controlled efficiency’ mode (‘C’), they’re closed, but switch over to ‘Sport’ (‘S’) or ‘Manual’ (‘M’) and the S63 AMG may just scare the neighbourhood kids.
It will also be available as a four-wheel-drive version, the 4Matic, which will get it to 100 kmph in a blistering 4.0 seconds. In comparison the rear-wheel drive S63 AMG still gets to 100 kmph in 4.4seconds. Top speed remains limited to 250 kmph, but can be increased to 300km/h in combination with a optional driver’s package. All this has been made possible due to extensive weight-saving measures which have resulted in a kerb weight of 1995 kg for both RWD and 4WD models. That is a genuine achievement by Mercedes Benz.
A retuned version of the standard S500’s air suspension complete with Mercedes’ new ‘Magic Body Control’ system find their way on to the luxury sedan. A camera mounted within the windscreen scans the road and alters the settings of the air springs according to the conditions for maximum levels of comfort or sportiness, depending on the chosen mode. Other options for the Mercedes Benz S63 AMG include carbon ceramic brakes for the first time, a chauffeur pack, a ‘first-class’ rear suite, an air-balance pack, coloured calipers among many other expensive extras.
So what do you think of the 2014 S63 AMG? Let us know in the comments below!
[Images source: Mercedes Benz]
