Commercial Break: E63AMG

The new super-sedan from Mercedes-Benz has three different trim levels. The base version gets a 5.5 liter twin turbo V8 good for 550 horses. The S-Model gets rated at 577HP and 590 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 comes in a manufacturer claimed 3.6 and 3.5 seconds.  And the Black Series, well, we don’t know yet. It’s probably nuclear powered.

Where this car isn’t like American Muscle is in the drive-train. For this generation E63, all-wheel-drive comes standard. That does seem a bit sacrilegious given the model’s tire eating history,  but I’m sure the top men and women at the AMG division know what they are doing.  AMG’s boss, Tobias Moers, committed to the notion that the car could only be AWD and have an AMG badge if it drove properly.  Customers won’t find the traditional 4matic Mercedes-Benz system on this car. Instead, a third of the power goes to the front wheels, and the rest is sent to the back. Proper oversteer will be felt rather that the traditional Mercedes-Benz undesteer inducing 45/55 split.

The latest in active safety gadgets are in place like infrared cameras and radar cruise control so you don’t crash it in normal, daily driving. A 7-speed transmission is also standard equipment and seems to be the one weak spot, but really who the hell is nit-picking like that when your car can probably make the world look like star-wars hyperspace?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh6WmhCm850?rel=0&w=560&h=315]