The next Mercedes E63 AMG will continue to use the company’s 6.2-litre V8, in spite of increasingly stringent emissions laws. Sources privy to the car’s details revealed to Autocar that the next hot E-class is a “clean-slate design” that uses the current 6.2-litre V8 engine. “Only the engine is brought over. The remainder has been either heavily reworked or is completely new,” said our source.
The new E63 will be unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, just six months after the new E-class has been revealed. The E63 saloon will be closely followed by an estate version and both will go on sale in the UK in early 2010 for around £70,000 and is a direct competitor for the following year's BMW M5.
Mercedes claims next year’s E-class is the biggest step forward for its enduring executive saloon since the hallowed W124 version appeared back in 1985.
As well as concentrating efforts on giving the new car a sharp new look, a great deal of work as been focused on the chassis, which shares various components with the critically acclaimed C-class in a move aimed at providing greater levels of production efficiency.
This is good news for AMG, which has vowed to make the new E63 a more dynamic drive than today’s model. In fact, AMG engineers have been involved in the development of the new E-class since its inception.
This has allowed AMG to tune the E63 with far fewer compromises than in the past. The ultimate E-class is said to feature a widened front track, a unique steering ratio, and MacPherson strut and multi-link suspension with variable damping control that, like all AMG models since 2002, has been tuned during exhaustive tests at the Nürburgring.
One unknown quantity is the rear differential. Autocar can confirm that AMG has been running E63 prototypes with a newly developed electronic rear diff. But while the early signs look encouraging, insiders say there has been no final decision on whether it will form part of the production package. (Thanks to Autocar for News and Pictures)
