Mercedes-Benz New Zealand used the 12-hour endurance race at Bathurst to show off two new additions to the Mercedes-AMG line-up.
While a Mercedes-AMG victory in the race was looking unlikely during a race, the new S 63 L and E 63 certainly attracted plenty of attention.
Sneaking away from the historic Mount Panorama circuit for a quick road loop drive of the new S and new E also took some time as circuit gate officials also wanted a good look at the new cars while checking the driver’s entry/exit credentials.
And who could blame them? As the hero models of the beautifully-furnished E-Class and S-Class ranges, the new $173,876 E 63 4MATIC and $324,900 S 63 L add extra driver appeal through their sportier powertrains, tighter-handling chassis performance, and bodywork enhancements that add pizzazz without looking too over the top.
Their respective twin-turbo V8 engines also sound racy without potentially being classed as public nuisances.
Mercedes-AMG already have the $199,913 S version of the E 63 on sale in New Zealand, and the new non-S model has a slightly detuned V8 that develops 420kW and 750Nm of torque, reductions of 30kW and 100Nm from the 450kW/850Nm S.
That’s still enough mumbo to fling the car from a standstill to the open road limit in 3.5 seconds thanks to the way the 4wd system aids traction at launch.
The similar 4.0litre V8 of the S 63 L, which drives the extended wheelbase version of the S-Class body via the rear wheels only, takes just 3.4 seconds to achieve the same feat when applying its 450kW and 900Nm maximum outputs to the road.
The fuel consumption of both cars is comparatively mild according to the lab test boffins, with the E 63 using 9.3litres during every 100km of the combined city/highway driving simulation, compared with the 9.0litres consumed by the bigger S 63 L.
Look out for Driven in NZ Herald and driven.co.nz for our full Mercedes-AMG wrap up coming soon.