Mercedes E 63 AMG S: UK price from £83,740

The E63 AMG S is the extreme version of what is already an extreme car in the E63, with a power boost that takes it from 549bhp to 577bhp – and throws in an extra 60lb/ft of torque for good measure too – and promises real extreme performance.

The problem is, getting that power down to the road. In left hand drive markets that’s solved by simply offering the Mercedes 4WD option – 4MATIC – which does a much better job of transferring power to the road than the regular RWD layout.

But Mercedes didn’t think it worthwhile engineering the E63 so they could offer 4MATIC in RHD, so the UK – and other RHD markets – have to make do with RWD and the penalties on sprint times that imposes.

Despite its extra horses, the E63 AMG S gets to 62mph just 0.1 seconds quicker than the regular, low-fat, E63 AMG. By contrast  the regular E63 AMG in LHD markets – when it’s fitted with 4MATIC – can despatch the same spring in a far more impressive 3.6 seconds.

So Mercedes expect you to pay an extra £10k for an E63 S that’s a notable chunk slower than a LHD regular 4MATIC E63 AMG.

That means the E 63 AMG S saloon starts at £83,740 and the estate at £85,530, which is an awful lot extra to pay for a 0.1 seconds advantage to 62mph and a bit more verve on the pickup, but you do get gloss black highlights, AMG spoiler, 19″ alloys, black nappa leather and an S badge on the boot, if that makes you more inclined t0 spend the extra.

Both the E 63 AMG S saloon and estate are available in the UK from June production, say Mercedes.

By Cars UK