The history of the AMG E-Class is long, rich, and not in the least bit varied: for 35 years now, back to the Hammer of 1986, there's been a V8, an automatic gearbox, a moody (yet discreet) look and more power than was ever strictly necessary.
And even though the new E63 S is more capable and more complex than ever, the crux of its appeal hasn't really altered at all. It's a V8 E-Class that's as fast a supercar - it's why they've always been desirable, and why they'll continue to be. Though the M5 has flitted between powertrains over the same period, the E-Class has never wavered far from the original template - you might say AMG had it sorted first time around.
But the AMG orthodoxy is under threat; next year we'll see the four-cylinder C63, followed soon after by the plug-in hybrid GT 73. The days of the purely V8 E63 seem numbered, with the successor to this freshly revised version surely heading down the hybridised (or potentially four-cylinder!) path.
Given the potential significance of this Mercedes, then - plus the fact it's an awesome AMG - we couldn't just limit coverage to a written review. So here we have the 2021 E63 S 4Matic+ (easy for you to say) on video, Matt taking the reins of the AMG history lesson and explaining why the old ways - brought right up to date - remain so compelling. If this is it for the V8 E-Class, it's going out in style...
