Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG S Coupe 2014 Review

Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG S Coupe 2014 Review

The wizards at AMG have weaved their magic on Mercedes-Benz’s largest coupe. The result is a grand turismo par excellence – at the same time a wieldy, genuinely rapid performance car and four-place luxurious, pampering two-door limousine. Although you’ll pay dearly for the privilege, living with a split personality has rarely been more rewarding.

The S 63 AMG Coupe is bi-polar... In a good way. Indeed, to an extent beyond any other car I've experienced, it successfully blends the disparate qualities and requirements of pace and grace.

Almost in spite of an ability to sprint 0-100km/h in 4.2sec, crack 300km/h before the limiter kicks in, and carve corners with the efficacy of a car two-thirds its size, the S 63 AMG can, when called upon, waft serenely.

All at once, it's almost silent (Mercedes-Benz claims the new S-Class Coupe breaks records in terms of wind noise and sound attenuation) and yet when prodded with a stick, growls and rumbles as a proper V8 performance coupe should.

Supremely comfortable and with a commanding road presence, the S 63 AMG is a proper, fair dinkum, serious Gran Turismo. Arguably, the best on the market today, it combines effortless cross-country performance with real comfort for four.

Oh, and it'll even fit all your suitcases.

The main building-block for the S 63 AMG is the core structure and systems of the all-new S-Class Coupe.

Based on the same platform as the new W222-series S-Class sedan, the coupe is around 65kg lighter, and has a shorter wheelbase. At 2945mm it is 90mm shorter than the standard-wheelbase S-Class sedan, but still a massive 200mm longer than the car with which it arguably competes most directly: Bentley's Continental GT.

Not surprisingly, this gives the S coupe a substantial advantage over the Brit in terms of interior space. The Benz is also considerable lighter.

We drove the S 63 AMG in Tuscany alongside its S 500 Coupe counterpart. Rather than regurgitate chapter and verse on the new S-Class coupe range and details, here we'll limit ourselves to the S 63 AMG's individual bouquets and brickbats. It may come as little surprise there's way more of the former.

The hand-built 430kW/900Nm 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 engine is a stonker with effortless heft but reduced thirst (10.1L/100km EC Combined) in the latest form. And the AMG-specific seven-speed Speedshift dry-clutch auto gearbox and bespoke suspension and steering tune give the car a more athletic and yet (in the case of the suspension and steering) planted, precise feel when compared to its S 500 counterpart.

Indeed, swap from one car to another and the difference is chalk and cheese – especially so when we’re talking the rear-drive versions of S 500 and S 63 AMG. Living in a right-hand drive market, they’re the only versions from which you’ll get to choose. Like the E-Class, the 4MATIC all-wheel drive S-Class variants are limited to left-hand drive production only. But even in its ‘purer’ form, straight away the S 63 AMG feels more planted and yet also more responsive than its S 500 non-AMG counterpart.

Like its S 500 stablemate, the new S 63 AMG Coupe offers Benz’s new curve tilting function. Like the S 500, this system, which artificially ‘tips’ the car into the corner with up to three degrees of bank, is best suited to low to middling speeds.

The real magic AMG weaves is by way of more conventional suspension tuning. New front-end geometry (more camber, the main change) and a slightly wider track (a function of bigger wheels and tyres) combine with stiffer bushes and a stiffer front anti-roll bar to give the S 63 AMG a very different feel when you’re behind the wheel.

Despite the fact the car is over 5.0m long, and almost 2.0m wide, the 2070kg-plus S 63 AMG performs better across a whole range of conditions than many cars a whole segment size smaller.

Whereas in the S 500 you’re tempted to rely on the car’s integral steering and lane keeping assistance (part of the comprehensive suite of active and passive driver aids grouped under the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive banner), the precision of the S 63 AMG reassures and encourages its driver to make the most of the road they’re on.

In all but some low-speed urban kilometres on the run from Casole to Florence via roads that once hosted the Mille Miglia, we eschewed the tilting ‘Curve’ setting, chose ‘Sport’ mode for the adaptive suspension (via a simple centre-console switch), enjoyed the accuracy of the big coupe and just got on with it.

When the road got gnarly, closer to the Firenze Centro, it was time instead for Comfort to be dialed up. Here the road surface scanning function of the suspension (fitted to all S-Class models) communicated with the semi-active system and ensured that we remained unruffled over potholes of late Renaissance proportions.

Mercedes-AMG calls the suspension system Magic Body Control. In most cases it’s more Magic Carpet Ride.

That AMG can combine this enthusiasm without degrading comfort deserves comment. The compromise is so successful I wonder why all S-Coupes do not get the AMG chassis tune. Yep, it’s that good...

Indeed, overall, the only glitch we struck in the S 63 AMG was the very occasional jerky response from the autobox when moving off from a standstill, or at low speed. Something to check when we get a car back at motoring.com.au HQ...

Mercedes-Benz Australia (MBAu) is still to confirm specification and pricing for the new S 63 AMG Coupe – due late this year Down Under – more details should be released in September or October.

The car it replaces, the CL 63 AMG, was priced at $422,445 (plus on-road costs). Thus, given the rarified air this type of car inhabits, you can expect the local S 63 AMG variant’s equipment levels to be high.

Among the pages of equipment our test car featured, I noted multi-function seats (with heating, cooling and massage functions), soft-close doors and boot lid, Burmester audio and head-up display among my favourites.

The standard 360-degree camera function was a God-send when I took a wrong turn near the Ponte Vecchio and ended up in a laneway barely wider than the S. Without it I would have kerbed one of the fancy 20-inch alloys or damaged one of the low profile ContiSportContact hoops for sure.

There are streaming online functions offered in the latest Comand satnav and audio system that’s standard on the S coupe. How many will make it to Oz is still to be confirmed. Those that do will be controlled via a new interface that in some ways replicates smartphones. All instrument panel and infotainment functions are displayed via the same two massive screens as the S-Class sedan.

Cabin finishes are as you’d expect – soft leathers, real metal and a choice of colours and trim materials that should satisfy even the fussiest buyer.

The sometimes over-the-top styling tweaks AMG renders are somewhat toned down on the S 63. It’s clearly still a hottie, but there’s more subtlety than say in an E 63 or even the similarly priced SL AMG models. Suffice it to say, it’s a handsome beast.

There are some AMG ‘standards’ familiar to regular Affalterbach customers on which the S 63 also misses out. For example, there are no Sport+ or RS (race start) mode options for the drivetrain, nor is there a choice of stability control modes – it’s on or off. No switchable bi-modal exhausts either, although there is the choice to option up AMG’s amazingly powerful carbon-ceramic braking system.

No harm, no foul, however. These omissions are more a case of recognising that the car is after all an S-Class rather than any penny-pinching or bloody-mindedness on AMG’s behalf... If any of these are real concerns to you, then you’re likely buying the wrong car.

There’s a strong suggestion, this generation of S-Class based two-door will arrive at a discount over the CL it replaces. Even if that is not the case, the abilities, performance and luxury amenities, coupled with the fact the biggest AMG two-door is effectively two cars in one, sees it set to be a success.

2015 Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG S Coupe pricing and specifications:

Price: $TBA
Engine: 5.5-litre eight-cylinder twin-turbo petrol
Output: 430kW/900Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.1L/100km (EC Combined)
CO2: 237g/km (EC Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA