Mercedes has announced today that the S version of its
E63 AMG
will be available in the UK as of June.
S will get limited-slip diff and 28hp power hike
Essentially a beefed-up version of the E63, a car which admittedly presented little need for beefing up in the first place, the S gets a 28hp hike to 585hp with a 59lb ft torque boost to match. A limited-slip diff will be standard, and the S will also get a handful of cosmetic upgrades, to include a body-colour spoiler, 19-inch matt grey alloy wheels, red brake calipers and “exclusive design elements” to include a smattering of gloss black trim and “silver shadow inserts”. Fancy. Oh, and there'll be a discreet 'S' badge on the tailgate, too.
Performance will, as you might expect, be brisk: 4.1 seconds to 62mph for the saloon, or 4.2 for the estate. Not quite as quick from a standing start as the 4Matic S that we won’t get here in the UK, then, which hits the same benchmark half a second sooner in both forms. The trade-off is that our rear-wheel-drive version will be, as Monkey puts it, “the silliest E of all”. And it’ll still do 174mph, which will give it the cojones to rival Audi’s Dynamic Pack-equipped RS6 Avant, and potentially the rumoured Competition Pack that looks like it’ll be offered for the BMW M5. Not so the RS6 if it's fitted with the Dynamic Plus Pack, mind, or indeed the Jaguar XFR-S; both will have the legs on the E63 AMG S, with a shared top speed of 186mph.
Not sure if it's an S? Check the badge
Prices for the S will start at £83,740 for the saloon – a smidge under £10,000 more than the standard E63 AMG – with the estate listing at £85,530.