The New-Ish Mercedes-AMG E63 Wagon Has Been Spied
There’s now a facelifted Mercedes-AMG E53, and among its various improvements is the inclusion of Drift Mode. It’s no more powerful than the old one, however, so if its 429bhp mild-hybrid inline-six powertrain doesn’t cut it, you’ll still be wanting the big daddy of the AMG E range - the E63. As luck would have it, Mercedes is prepping a rejigged version of that too, and although it isn’t going to be revealed until later this year, a barely disguised prototype has been spotted.
At the front, it’s wearing the same new light clusters and ‘Panamericana’-style grille as the E53, with some larger lower vents helping differentiate it from the ‘lesser’ performance-orientated E-Class. Around the back, changes are a little harder to spot, but we can see a redesigned diffuser as well as some more aggressive-looking trapezoidal exhaust trims.
Behind the snazzy new grille will be the now-familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. As with the E53, AMG may not bother increasing the output - after all, the E63 already has a faintly ridiculous 603bhp in S trim. On the other hand, we do know the ‘M177’ engine is capable of more go - in the AMG GT 4 Door, it’s good for 630bhp, so a boost for this saloon/wagon cousin isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.
Although we don’t get a close-up look at the interior in this new batch of shots, we’re expecting a similar set of changes to the ones already seen in the E53 and the wider E-Class range. A twin-screen instrument cluster/infotainment setup will be retained, but with the newer MBUX interface installed. Yep, that means you’ll be able to do the whole ‘Hey Mercedes’ thing. The E63 will also get a fancy new steering wheel, and on the outside, some new colour options.
Judging by the smaller wheels and chunky-ish tyre sidewalls, the example seen here is likely the base version of the E63. This is something Mercedes may neglect to bring to the UK - many of Affalterbach’s recent products including the E63’s SUV sibling - the GLE 63 - have only been made available in S form over here.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Here comes the one to set the new super-estate world order! I can’t wait to see if they tweak the V8 up to GT 63 S 4Dr power level. Also, dear CT editors, please note that the grille is no longer called ‘Panamericana’. For a few years now AMG calls it ‘AMG-specific grille’.
I’m pretty sure they’re going to increase the output, even if only by a dozen hp.
On the other hand, I’m disappointed they decided to extend the MBUX twin-screen dashboard to the whole range: I’d have preferred if it would have been limited to the A-Class. I just can’t help but think to the long-term durability and life expectancy of this, compared to the previous dashboards. If somethings bugs, or if something fails on it, you’ve got to replace the whole thing, and I can’t imagine this being easy to do in 15 years. Plus, it might not age well, as opposed to virtual clusters integrated in the dashboard (like the ones present for a couple years already): I thought companies would have learned that after two decades. Technology doesn’t age well, and something that got out in the mid-2000s look completely obsolete by now. I mean, look at a car with an integrated screen, but from 2005-2006. It did not age very well.