AMG Power Tour: Driving Merc’s Monsters at Yas
Driving Merc’s biggest dogs at Yas
By Imthishan Giado
Fan of the three pointed star? Fan of the three letters that make that three pointed star go very fast indeed? Then there’s one event that happens each year that you simply cannot afford to miss: the AMG Power Tour.
The name sums it up really. It’s a chance to drive each and every one of AMG’s mega-bhp hotted-versions on track at Yas Marina F1 circuit and compare them back-to-back. With a combined total of 14,904bhp and 14,135lb ft of torque on offer at the track this was a chance for power junkies to overdose. In fact, quite a few journos could be seen wiping small flecks of drool off their chins later that evening.
No fluff about character lines and cupholders – I’m going to get straight in with my impressions of each one. For brevity’s sake, I will stick to the cars that have been heavily updated this year.
Mercedes E63 AMG 4Matic
The E63 was heavily refreshed last year with a new front and rear end that brought into line with current Merc styling (and got rid of the three pointed star on all but the elegance model – boo!), added some extra horses and torque (27bhp and 59lb ft to be exact) on the new S-model. And most interestingly of all, there’s now standard 4Matic all-wheel drive. It seems even mighty AMG must accept that their cars cannot possibly hope to put down all that immense power through just two driven wheels.
Question is, does it spoil the rather fine handling of the E63? The answer: a little, yes. Where the old E63 was a riotous lout pretending to be a respectable member of society under an assumed identity, the ‘new’ E63 is far more buttoned down. Gone is the hoontastic back end and in its place, masses of traction and planted, neutral handling that transitions to oversteer much more reluctantly than before – and yes you can turn everything off to achieve the old effect, but the old one wanted to do it all the time!
On the up side, it’s very, very quick indeed. This is a two-tonne-plus sedan that can crack 100kph under four seconds; by any measure that is ludicrous, and a tribute to how grunty this twin-turbo V8 is. Steering is Merc numb but direct and quick, the brakes well up to the task of repeated stopping and the handling predictable. Where the long, long CLS63 slithers around and constantly wants to swap ends, the E63 is much more forgiving to drive at the limit.
In fact, of all the cars I would drive on the circuit that evening, this remains my favourite, if slightly more aloof than before. The perils of progress, I suppose.
Mercedes SL63 AMG
Biggest surprise of the night for me? Finding out how good this big bruiser of a boulevard cruiser was through the twisties. Nowhere near as good to look at as its mega-selling R230 predecessor, this new convertible is nevertheless one hell of a fast way to lose your toupee.
Not actually that much lighter than the sedans, but it feels brisker off the line and with less mass to rotate on the tight corners, the SL63 can do a reasonable facsimile of a sportscar, albeit one that’s eaten all the pies and came back for a second helping.
Drawbacks? Well, you still have to look at the thing. And…well, I can’t help but wonder what the point of the SL is now. It’s not particularly light, it’s not particularly practical and unlike its illustrious gullwing forebear, not particularly pretty to look at. Sports cars are just so 2002, aren’t they?
Mercedes SLG AMG GT
AKA, the car that the rest of the range aspires to be. Except…well, they’re all faster now.
Here’s a little secret. We had a continuous set of mini-drag races through the night, up to around 100kph or so. Every single time, the naturally-aspirated SLS GT lost to the turbo cars. Didn’t matter if it was the portly CLS63 Shooting Brake or the A45, the SLS could not hook up quickly enough to eke out the top end horsepower advantage.
Then again, I’m not entirely surprised. The caveman SLS performs well on the track with good poise and a natural athletic demeanor, but the big 6.2-litre V8 likes to be revved to extract its best from it, so drag races are hard to do without feeling like an abusive husband to the DCT ‘box. Speaking of the latter, you still have to feed in the throttle like you’re kicking a dying donkey, otherwise the car jerks around like a learner special.
This is the GT version with 20 extra bhp, but damned if I could feel any difference from behind the wheel. Still mega quick, but the SLS is four years old, and it’s starting to feel it.
Mercedes A45AMG
This is the one you all want to hear about right? The giant-killing hatch with 355bhp? The four-wheel drive monster with the world’s most powerful production four-cylinder engine? Does it live up to the hype?
Mostly. Let me get the negatives out of the way first: the steering in the regular A-Class isn’t great and this isn’t either, the rear seats are uncomfortable for anyone over 5’10” and visibility from the front is less than ideal with thick A-pillars and a claustrophobic feel.
Otherwise, it’s all gravy, baby. Little though it may be, the A45 AMG packs a mean punch, like that short kid you knew at school who had a big chip on his shoulder. This is too short a space to provide a definitive review, but for most UAE drivers it will be ideal: the turbocharged engine has loads of grunt, doesn’t really have much lag under 1500rpm and pulls like a steam train to redline, firing off aggressive ‘parps’ on every upshift, exhaust popping and cracking like a pseudo racecar.
On track…well, it’s not what I could call ‘fun’, but it is freakin’ fast. In the corners, the trick is to sort your braking out early, chuck the A45 in with serious venom and let the 4MATIC system to sort it out all out. Make no mistake: this little hatch will lay waste to many a faster car if they don’t give it sufficient respect. Unfortunately, the four-wheel drive system means the tail isn’t playful in the vein of the Toyota 86, and you can induce significant understeer if you overdrive it.
I’ll need more seat time on real roads and not the artificial scenario of the track to see if the A45 can truly live up to its turbocharged promise. No need to fret though if you’ve got one on order, I think you’ll be very pleased indeed.
Verdict
I’ve missed on a couple of cars that were there – the CLS63 Shooting Brake, the SLS Roadster – which are functionally the same as the E63 and SLS respectively. The big one that I really wanted to drive wasn’t available to us – the mighty S63 AMG. Pity, because I’ve always wanted to do a lap of Yas in complete and utter luxury…
Nevertheless, the Power Tour is a great event, and if by some miracle you manage to score an invite, don’t even hesitate to get your butt down there. After all, where else could you get access to a combined 14,904 horsepower and 14,135 lb fts of torque…in one place?
