Oh Yas please with Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG

Now this is more like it! The last time I approached turn eight — a hairpin bend at the end of the Yas Marina circuit's main straight — I was en route to my marshals' post for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. One of 50 passengers in a Mercedes bus, I was relaxed, snapping photos as we cruised at a comfortable 40kph. A month later and once again I'm in a Mercedes, only this time I'm behind the wheel of a 525bhp E 63 AMG saloon, travelling 220kph faster, and with turn eight hurtling towards my windscreen at 70 metres per second, the urge to take my right foot off the accelerator is overwhelming. But...

Belly of the beast

"No brakes, keep on the power until we reach the 200 metre mark," crackles the radio. Quite how Mercedes Driving Academy instructor Patrick Simon reads minds and simultaneously pilots his own car around the track watching his rear-view mirror is beyond comprehension. Maybe his particular E 63 has the telepathy option fitted? It wouldn't surprise me — AMG seems to have installed everything else in mine.

"OK, now full braking, off the brakes, turn in under power, keep that line, good, now second apex, turn to the start/finish straight... Come on! Full power!"

The instructions come thick and fast as we hurtle round the circuit, and my life preserving instinct to slow down a little has to be forcibly overruled in my head so I can hang on to the coat-tails of Patrick's identical vehicle.

It would be nice to think that my own driving skills are the only thing keeping me on the circuit at these speeds, but alas, the truth is that the AMG's stability control, active brake distribution, sports suspension and SpeedShift seven-speed gearbox are probably working overtime to prevent me from decorating the armco.

Fortunately, they work very well indeed. The sports transmission, for example, utilises a wet clutch in place of a conventional torque convertor. Power to the wheels is never interrupted, gearchanges are seamless and it double clutches on downshifts, leading to faster changes, minimal wear and tear and, to the outside observer, excellent control by the driver. In every sense, this is a car which makes its driver look good.

But it's also a car with personality issues. Switch off the sports settings, turn on the sat-nav and suddenly you're cossetted in a limousine, cruising effortlessly from Abu Dhabi to Muscat, with the AMG's 6.2-litre V8 engine generating 630Nm of teutonic torque to spirit you there in a heartbeat. Electronically controlled damping and a combination of steel springs at the front and air springs at the rear keep the car on the straight and level. Switch on the massage seats, turn up the Harman Kardon 14-speaker surround sound system and enjoy the ride in relaxed comfort.

What about fuel consumption I hear you ask? Well yes, it definitely consumes fuel, but hey, so does a Prius. Thank you for the question.

On your hypothetical way back from Muscat, may I respectfully suggest that you avoid the tedious, radar ridden coastal road toward Hatta and instead take the sweeping back roads to Buraimi and Al Ain? Because if you're the sort of driver who's made the decision to buy an AMG Mercedes due to what's under the bonnet, you'd better be camera shy. Bury your right foot in this car and a team of exhaust pipe designers in AMG's home town of Affalterbach, look up and think, "excellent, another satisfied customer". OK it's not quite that loud, but it's close, and it's glorious, constantly tempting you to change to manual mode, pull on the paddle shift to drop down through the gears and listen to it sing. Serenaded thus, you are now driving, very, very rapidly in a car which would not look out of place at Nad Al Sheba, but which would probably rather be at the Nürburgring with a grin on its face.

AMG has been preparing cars for the German touring car championships for decades, and it shows. There's no point building a car that accelerates from 0 to 100kph in 4.5 seconds and which is capable of 300kph if the brakes let it down. Have no fear, despite its 1,840kg kerb weight, the E 63 AMG's vented, 360mm diameter brakes are astonishingly good. After 12 hard charging mid-day laps of the North circuit in the hands of, shall we say, less experienced drivers, their stopping power was still strong. In fact, as strong as the moment I first accelerated toward the pit lane tunnel and thought, ‘Oh my goodness, a 90-degree blind left turn approaching expensively quickly — BRAKE!'

Verdict

Of course it would be a shame to spend around Dh440,000 on a four door saloon and have your corporate competitors think you were driving around in "just a Mercedes". So AMG's design studio added some muscle to the base car's design. They widened the wheel arches to accommodate the front axle's 56mm wider track, bolted on 19in alloy rims as standard (or the optional 20s if the extra inch is important to you), added a trademark AMG front spoiler with integral vents to help brake cooling, as well as AMG logo door sills, and of course a pair of AMG 6.3 badges to let your CEO know who really runs the boardroom. That is unless you're already the CEO.

The car's driving position and visibility are excellent, whilst the switchgear, controls and instruments — specific to the AMG model — are as clear and as logical to use as you would expect from a German manufacturer. And since this particular vehicle does have a tendency to go around corners enthusiastically, the sides of the active contour seats expand as you turn, keeping you securely in position and counteracting the tendency for your body to slide to the outside of the curve.

At least that's what the brochures will tell you. I personally think the E 63 AMG just likes to cuddle you when you drive it at its limits. Which seems only fair.

Specs & Rating

Model E 63 AMG
Engine 6.2-litre V8
Transmission Seven-speed auto
Max power 525bhp @ 6,800rpm
Max torque 630Nm @ 5,200rpm
Top speed 250kph
0-100kph 4.5sec
Price Dh440,000

Plus Power, handling, understated looks, awesome gadgets

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