Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe

It’s a GT Jim, but not as we know it...

Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe

Engine: 5,461cc, twin-turbocharged V8

Power: 577bhp and 663lb.ft. of torque

Performance: 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds and 155mph (limited)

Economy: 28 mpg (combined)

CO2 emissions: 237g/km

Price: £125,595 (basic)

A HASTILY snapped picture on my mobile phone had little right to trump the official publicity shots of various car firms new metal in my 2012 round-up of the Frankfurt Motor Show highlights.

But such was the impact of the Mercedes S-Class Coupe concept that it captured my attention with far greater effect than new metal from Porsche, Rolls Royce and Jaguar.

Seeing the finished, production model under the autumn sunshine at Bolton Abbey, near Skipton, it still holds the gaze of those around it.

There’s a fluidity to the S-Class Coupe that sets it apart from other Mercedes models and an imposing scale to match.

I’d be lying if I wrote that it looked quite as ground-hugging as the concept but its achingly premium appearance is bolstered by two evocative boot badges... S63 AMG.

Beneath that long bonnet lies a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 that will deliver the 577bhp and 663lb.ft of torque required to propel the four-seat coupe to 62mph in 4.2 seconds.

Behind that is a cabin with sufficiently space-age feel to prepare the driver for such Warp Nine acceleration.

A complex but organic pattern is sculpted into every surface, including the neatly stitched seats which somehow manage to be hugely soft and armchair-like, while sportily supportive. There’s even a massage feature and a bottle of perfume in the glove compartment that fills the air with a fragrance of the driver’s choice.

A head-up speed display meant that there was no need to remove my eyes from the road, while 12.3 inch TFT display dominates the dashboard, providing web access among its host of functions.

It is a tech-packed and futuristically styled space that justifies the S63 AMG’s £125,595 basic list price.

As I take to Yorkshire’s remote moorland roads it takes no time for the S63 AMG to accelerate from the refined to the ridiculous.

At first that big V8 is barely audible.

Other worldly performance awaits, however.

My test car had the optional AMG Driver Package which saw the top speed de-limited to 186mph and that doesn’t seem like such an astronomical figure after a few short seconds of full acceleration.

A distant rumble from the exhausts and a barely perceptible lightening of the steering are the only clues apart from the fast approaching horizon that the S63 is ravenously piling on speed.

Hard on the brakes and there is the muffled sound of exhausts roaring with each down-shift as the Speedshift Plus gearbox slips home gearchanges and huge composite brakes scrub off speed.

What happens next just continues my Flight of the Navigator simile.

Almost like the car has some artificial intelligence it leans into the upcoming right hand corner like a motor-cycle rider.

Curve tilting is something that Mercedes has been working on for well over a decade and here we see the technology realised in production form.

Combined with air sprung suspension with a system which scans the road surface ahead, the car actually leans into a bend to counter the effects of centrifugal force.

Mercedes claims the aim is to improve the passenger experience rather than generate more grip, but it does heighten a sense of traction and stability, increasing confidence and pace as a result.

All-in-all this is a starship for the road. I cannot recall driving a car which more effectively combines such pace, style, technology and opulent comfort in one package.

It might have taken me two years to get from drooling to driving, but it was worth the wait.

 

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