Mercedes-AMG S63 L

E63 S powertrain, rear-drive and supreme comfort

- Dylan Campbell

THIS CAR, for many MOTOR readers whether they know it or not, would be the dream daily driver if those lotto numbers finally came through. Thumping, torque-rich V8, rear-wheel drive, sumptuous interior and lovely ride, plus gadgets galore and plenty of interior space. Oh, and the way it looks will have even the most mouth breathing of right-lane dawdlers veering hard left out of your way.

The S-Class is one Mercedes-Benz model that readily lends itself to the AMG treatment, and the Affalterbach revheads have just given their S63 another going-over. The old 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 is out, as is its seven speed automatic transmission, replaced with the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and nine-speed auto from the new E63 S. That means a tremendous 450kW and 900Nm, although unlike E63 S, the S63 L is rear-drive only, the all-wheel drive version available overseas is not engineered for right-hand drive.

Mercedes-AMG has also revised the exterior styling and we think it looks mega on its 20-inch Y-spoke wheels, sitting low in a certain Russian oligarch kind of way. It’s just a physically large and imposing car in the metal, especially the long-wheelbase version that’s more than 5.2 metres long.