Tuesday 15th November 2011

New Mercedes ML63 AMG revealed

AMG finds yet another home for its 5.5-litre biturbo V8...

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A high-riding, bluff-fronted off-roader might not be an engineer's dream choice as the basis for a performance car, but ever since Mercedes dropped a 347hp V8 into the ML55 AMG more than a decade ago, the performance 'off-roader' has been a barely explicable commercial success.

And now Mercedes has taken the wraps off its latest Muscle-SUV to give us the new ML63 AMG. The headline figures are pretty astonishing. In 'normal' trim there's 525hp and 516lb ft to play with, enabling the ML63 to sprint to 62mph in 4.8secs. Pick the AMG Performance pack, meanwhile, and you'll get a whole 557hp and 561lb ft to help shove you along, meaning 62mph can now be reached from rest in just 4.7secs. Both top out at an electronically limited 155mph. Not bad for an SUV that weighs well over two tons...

As with most recent AMGs, lurking beneath the bonnet of the ML63 (and despite the '63' nomenclature) is the new twin-turbo 5.5-litre AMG V8, which features (take a deep breath) ... spray-guided direct petrol injection with piezo injectors, ECO start/stop system, an all-aluminium crankcase, four valves per cylinder with camshaft adjustment, air-water charge air cooling and generator management. Phew...

That's combined with 4Matic permanent four-wheel drive via Merc's AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-tronic automatic transmission. The result is a drivetrain that delivers not only the aforementioned performance, but also a 28 per cent improvement in efficiency over its predecessor (although that still only equates to 23.9mpg on the official combined cycle).

In order to keep all that power and weight in check, Mercedes adaptively damped air suspension system now features an Active Curve System, which uses active anti-roll bars front and rear to help reduce cornering roll.

 

Key data at a glance:

	ML 63 AMG
Displacement	5461 cc
Bore x stroke	98.0 x 90.5 mm
Compression ratio	10.0 : 1
Output	525 hp at 5250 rpm 557 hp at 5750rpm*
Max torque	700 Nm at 1750-5000 rpm 760 Nm at 2000-5000 rpm*
Engine weight (dry)	204 kg
Fuel consumption, NEDC combined	23.9 mpg
CO2 emissions	276 g/km
Acceleration 0-62 mph	4.8 s 4.7 s*
Top speed	155 mph**

[MrTappets]

I'd still have a Cayenne Turbo S. Actually hang that, I'd rather have a Disco TDV8 and to hell with the 0-60 time!

[Davey S2]

Horrendous to buy and horrendous to run and will depreciate like a stone.

Bit of a pointless car TBH

[Cassius81]

MrTappets said:

I'd still have a Cayenne Turbo S. Actually hang that, I'd rather have a Disco TDV8 and to hell with the 0-60 time!

Not sure LR put the TDV8 in the Disco? TDV6 instead - but i think it goes ok.

[KM666]

Coming to school run near you soon (provided you live in the south east and wear alot of gold)

[Stew2000]

KM666 said:

Coming to school run near you soon (provided you live in the south east and wear alot of gold)

Agreed. my local ML has Brabus rims.

[Johnboy Mac]

If you wanted a very hot 4x4 & could afford it, why not.

[GTEYE]

Somehow this new ML doesn't look right to me. IMHO it lacks the presence of the previous ML or X5 or Cayenne, and looks somehow a little Korean. Actually that may be unfair to the Koreans...

[anonymous-user]

Not liking the back end one bit. Previous gen was much nicer.

Interior looks spot on though.

X5M would get my vote.

[5lab]

doesn't make a lot of sense here.

Makes huge sense in the US and middle eastern states where fuel is pennies and there are lots of rich folk who want to waft around in comfort in a high seating position

I'd rather have the hennesey escalade, if it worked

[mylesmcd]

Dubai said:

Not liking the back end one bit. Previous gen was much nicer.

Interior looks spot on though.

X5M would get my vote.

What he said. Looks too 'remedial' at the front end and complicated at the back. Output figures are amazing, especially the CO2's.....epic engineering no doubt, but, for me....I would wait until Audi have released the new RS6........

[David87]

Fantastically irrelevant. It'll be a sad day when cars like this are stopped from being developed by the tree-huggers and suchlike. Fortunately, that day is not today.

[hornetrider]

Johnboy Mac said:

If you wanted a very hot 4x4 & could afford it, why not.

I'd agree with that. Not bad for a school run uber-wagon.

[VeeDub Geezer]

What's "sir suspension"?

[AdamPT]

That is UGLY!! I'm in the market for an SUV for the mrs and I just can't see beyong and X5 deisel. (although she wants a Cayenne....no chance!!)

[Johnboy Mac]

hornetrider said:

Johnboy Mac said:

If you wanted a very hot 4x4 & could afford it, why not.

I'd agree with that. Not bad for a school run uber-wagon.

Even I'd be happy to collect the kids in it

[George H]

I'd rather have the current ML63, this new one doesn't look as good imo. Especially in white

I bet it is massive fun surprising people at the lights though.

[Ved]

Jesus.

[Mars]

That would be my lottery-win daily-driver. Well, maybe a Cayenne Turbo. Would need to try them back-to-back really.

But costs aside (which you wouldn't care about if you won the lottery), it seems the perfect antidote to our poor roads although I'd have smaller wheels with higher profile tyres - would suit a truck better anyway.

I could keep the Ferrari for the exceptional trips then.

[uncle tez]

I really like the looks of it. Looks alot better than the cayenne imo

[The1Driver]

I see no point in these cars.

Audi and its V12TDi Q7
BMW's X5M and X6M
Now this.....

What on earth is their purpose in life?!