2014 Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG/// S

2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG 4MATIC

Bummed that Audi won't sell you an RS6 Avant? Cry on Mercedes' shoulder.

“Almost” rarely feels this good. The 49ers almost turned Super BowlXLVII around. Commissioner Gordon almost saved Batman’s girlfriend. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG’s S model offers almost 600 horsepower, but we bet few people are terribly disappointed that it’s actually 23 shy. And with 590 lb-ft of torque testing the traction limits on all four tires, it’s hard to feel anything but a giddy sense of awe.

That’s right, four tires. To route that much energy to just the rear 285/35-19s might test not only their traction limits but also the boundaries of good sense. Because near-600-horse executive sedans are nothing if not sensible, all-wheel drive is now standard on base and S versions of the 2014 E63 AMG. Its official name is now E63 AMG 4MATIC. Here, the system defaults to a 33/67-percent front-to-rear torque split, although it can send a maximum of 70 percent to either end. It adds 154 pounds—less than Quattro adds to an A6 or xDrive to a 5-series.

Ensuring a lifetime of punishment for the all-wheel-drive system is AMG’s twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8. Engine-management tweaks bump the base car’s output from last year’s 518 horsepower and 516 lb-ft to 550 and 531. Mercedes previously offered a $7300 AMG Performance package on the E63 for power brokers. That’s now called the AMG S model, which cranks up the boost from 13.0 psi to 14.5 to yield the previously mentioned 577 horsepower and 590 lb-ft. A limited-slip differential is standard on the S (it’s optional on the E63 AMG), where it was deemed necessary to handle the additional twist. In a masterstroke of customer understanding, Mercedes will offer E63 wagon buyers—i.e., enlightened lunatics—only the higher-output tune.

And remember how the car now has all-wheel drive? Oof. Oureducated guess pegs the involuntary grunting that accompanies full-throttle acceleration as equivalent to three sit-ups per launch. Our tech department’s educated guess predicts that the E63 can hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, the S in 3.3, and either version can complete a quarter-mile blitzkrieg in fewer than 12 seconds. If you’re shifting manually, your reflexes had better be quick. Fail to grab the next gear the second the tach flashes an angry red, and the 5.5’s headlong rush for rpm ends abruptly at the rev limiter. Even in the upper gears, the engine’s pull from low rpm very quickly translates into illicit velocity.

Although seeing “4MATIC” appended to the name of one of the most enjoyable hot rods in the business made us wince, in practice, the system is unobtrusive. With its hefty rearward bias, the all-wheel-drive system mostly stays out of the way in corners—except when it’s helping yank the car out of particularly tight ones. It doesn’t noticeably corrupt the steering. Computer programming automatically brakes the inner rear wheel on turn-in, which helps the car to feel remarkably nimble. Oversteer is still an option but now requires significantly greater commitment from the driver to induce. The suspension’s excellent tuning means that, even in the most relaxed of its three modes, it never feels too soft when pushed or too hard over bumps.