Mercedes E Class wagons are hard enough to find at the best of times, but an E63 wagon is even rarer still – regardless what generation it is. This exciting beast of a machine is one of my favourite cars due to it’s mix of aggression, practicality and earth-shattering performance. Sitting between the C and S Class, the E offers decent space on the inside without taking up the same amount of space as an uber-luxury sedan. It’s still a big car of course, especially in a European context, but it doesn’t seem quite so big next to our many SUVs and utes here in Australia. That to me is a big plus and yet another reason why I advocate for wagons. Without further ado, here is the story of the 2007 Mercedes-AMG E63.
For the facelifted W211, Mercedes decided to sharpen up the front end styling for a sportier appearance. This change applied to all E Classes in some way, but it was more pronounced on the AMG models. Speaking of which, AMG dumped the E55 in favour of a brand new model called the E63. Inside was a naturally aspirated 6.2 litre V8, built from the ground up to get the edge over BMW. This is weird because the car says 6.3 on it. Mercedes wanted to pay tribute to it’s 300 SEL 6.3, and because 6.2 was “close enough”, they just ran with it. Would it really have been that hard to push out a few more cubic centimetres, Mercedes? Anyway the engine was a brute with over 500 HP and oodles of torque to burn up those rear tyres in mere minutes.
Putting all this into a sedan is one thing, but putting it in a wagon is another altogether due to it’s bigger load capacity. You can take your friends and your dog, or in this case, a pet Yoshi in one of the rear-facing back seats. Yes, this car has 2 fold-away seats in the boot, bringing the total seat count to 7. However, the seating in the boot is only appropriate for small children, which is a slightly unsettling thought in a such a fast wagon. Better hope they don’t get sick easily or it will get very messy indeed.
The 6.2 litre engine from this car ended up in a lot of other vehicles with a “63” badge, like the C63, CLK 63 and G63 before the trusty 4.0 litre turbocharged unit took over. It’s kind of a shame that the big capacity V8 was shelved because it was a rather stout engine that delivered plenty of shove low down. That kind of power makes sense in a car weighing in at close to 2 tonnes. A highly stressed engine won’t give you the same amount of driveability on the street, which is where this car will find itself more often than not. It also won’t give you the insane torque.
Ever since I discovered the existence of this car, I’ve been desperate to capture it for this blog. It has all the hallmarks of a special Benz, showcasing the power, class and madness that it is only just beginning to return in the AMG lineup. Bean counters were not involved in the creation of this beast because the engineers wanted to push the limits and create a memorable experience. We humans aren’t always rational creatures, so having the freedom to create something ridiculous every now and again is by no means a bad thing. This car is the perfect example of that.
