Mercedes-AMG: Next E63 will be all-wheel drive only

Mercedes-AMG boss, Tobias Moers, has announced the next E63 sedan and wagon based on the all-new W213-series E-Class will be all-wheel drive only and rear-wheel drive will not be an option in any market.

Currently, the outgoing BMW M5-rival is only available in rear-wheel drive in right-hand drive markets, like Australia, but in other places such as Germany left-hand drive E63 sedan and wagons are available with the option of Mercedes' 4MATIC four-wheel drive system.

According to AMG's boss, these all-wheel drive E63s in left-hand drive markets out-sell the base rear-wheel drive model in a ratio of 9:1.

Speaking to Top Gear, Moers told the British car magazine "people in this segment are looking for four-wheel drive".

Moers also revealed that future E63s would come with "completely new" all-wheel drive hardware and claimed that the new performance sedan will be the "biggest step we ever did with a generation".

Moers didn't reveal what Mercedes-AMG is planning with the all-wheel drive E63 but expect the German car maker to adopt complex electronically controlled diffs that include torque vectoring across the rear axle to replicate rear-wheel drive characteristics and, in certain driving modes, allow the big sedan to drift.

Rear-wheel steering will not be part of the package Moers, told Top Gear, as AMG's boss felt there was "no need for it" in an E-Class but it will be introduced on other AMG products, likely to be the performance division's most hard-core products.

Finally, Moers confirmed that the new E63 will be powered by a substantially re-engineered version of the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 that powers the C63 and AMG GT.

AMG's boss says the new engine will have a "different level of power" compared to the 375kW C 63 S, thanks to two new turbochargers and completely redesigned cylinder heads.

Moers wouldn't confirm how much power the new engine would produce but said: "Power should be in line with the overall capabilities of the chassis. It's important to have a precise throttle response than all that power. You need a certain level and in that segment it's around 600bhp [440kW]."