The article was originally produced on December 5, 2016, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Mercedes AMG E63s 4matic

Despite the total lack of grounding in reality, one cannot help but love the new Mercedes AMG E63 S 4Matic+.

Cars Collection went to the Portuguese race track Portimão to find out how the new version with its 612 horses behaves. An experience that put body and soul to the test. No normal person can walk away unscathed from a few laps in this sledgehammer on one of Europe's most challenging racing tracks.

The new E-Class once again raised the bar for the segment when it was presented about a year ago. Now it's time for the worst thing in this family, from subsidiary AMG, to take its place on the podium as the strongest sedan in the trio with competitors Audi RS6 and BMW M5. However, it should be mentioned that these three testosterone locomotives come with a certain regularity and that Mercedes is usually the first out. We can only speculate about how new the RS6 and M5 will be. The first of them will be the M5, which will probably be presented in the spring. The letters AMG stand for the founders' name Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard MElcher and Aufrecht's birthplace Grose asparagus. The company was started on 1 June 1967 in Burgstall not far from Stuttgart. 

The jewel in the E63 is a four-liter V8 engine with twin turbochargers. In the version without S, it delivers 571 horsepower, while with S it gives 41 more horses and 850 Newtons of torque. The sprint from 0 to 100 takes just 3.4 seconds. The top speed limit is reached at 250 kilometers per hour and it literally feels like driving into a wall. Power is distributed dynamically to the front and rear wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission. The interesting thing about the dynamic four-wheel drive, 4Matic+, is that the car assesses how much power you need in the curves and can then steplessly supply the front and rear wheels as needed. On the track you could clearly feel this as it was almost impossible to get a little release with the rear carriage. Despite a weight of almost two tonnes, it lies like an iron no matter how hard you push in sharp curves, something the Portimao track has plenty of. The E 63 S has a number of driving programs that completely change the car depending on how you want it. The comfort mode is fantastic when you just need to add miles on motorways or roads with poorer surfaces. Bumps and pits are swallowed without problems. If you then want to get a little more out and hear the sweet song from the V8, you should go directly to Sport+. The sound and performance that now appears is a pure orgasm for those who are weak for these particular attributes. Once on the track, the Race mode suits best. Now you get access to all the best and the car is as ready as Usain Bolt when it's the Olympic 100 meter final. There is also a mode called "Individual", in which you can set how you want the car. For example, have everything in Sport+ or race apart from the dampers in comfort. 

But if you want to be the hardest and strongest, you must be able to be kind at the same time. Mercedes has solved this through variable cylinders that can be switched off. A symbol in the screen in front of the steering wheel shows whether the engine runs on eight or four cylinders. Something that obviously has a big impact on fuel consumption. The E63 S is packed with new technology, such as variable engine mounts that can compensate for the weight load and stiffen the chassis further when cornering properly. The car is also equipped with an Autopilot system that allows the car to drive itself. The system contains a file exchange function which, however, has so far not been permitted by law in Sweden. In Portugal, on the other hand, you could try it, when you want to change lanes, you simply do it with the turn signal lever in the direction you want to hear, then the car changes lanes itself without you having to touch the steering wheel.

The interior, which is a revel in carbon fiber panels, is very inviting. The sports seats with AMG emblems in the headrests are both comfortable and at the same time provide really good support when driving on the track and sitting as if in a vise. Nowadays, there are no physical gauges, but they have had to make way for a giant screen that stretches from the left side of the steering wheel all the way past the center of the car's center console. Everything from the speedometer, the car's settings, navigation and infotainment is displayed here. As the crowning glory, an IWC watch sits in the center of the console. 

Falling head over heels for this car is a pure understatement, if you're a bit weak for this type of car, it's done. Once you've sat in the new Mercedes AMG E63 S 4Matic+ and enjoyed a number of miles on the motorway, winding mountain roads and a couple of fast laps on the Portimão circuit, you never want to get out.