That fine upstanding 19th Century English politician, historian and thespian, Lord John Emerich Acton, once pontificated that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
While the good Lord Acton was reportedly referring to moral standards among his fellow man, had he been around today he might have used his famous quotation to reference the most potent, most powerful Mercedes-Benz S-class ever, the new AMG S63 E Performance hybrid.
Talk about power and corruption. This rolling nuclear reactor packs an ungodly 791 horsepower and 1,055 pound-feet of torque. There are SpaceX rockets with less oomph. Stand on the gas and you’ll be sling-shotted from standstill to 60 mph in a gut-churning 3.2 seconds.
And we’re not talking about some hip-high, two-seat supercar here. This is an S-class, the preferred ride of Third World dictators, Cohiba-smoking captains of industry and, strangely, former Saturday Night Live funnyman Pete Davidson.
Part of what makes this AMG-developed Merc so mesmerizing is what lies beneath. It’s a plug-in hybrid with a Molotov cocktail that combines AMG’s sublime 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with high-torque electric motor powering the rear axle.
But there’s an added twist here. Mercedes-AMG worked with its Formula 1 team to refine the lithium-ion battery used in the race car for the S63. This high output 13.1 kWh lithium-ion pack delivers an instant and substantial jolt of volts to the big V8.
No, it doesn’t turn the big S into an EV. While it can power the car in electric-only mode, the juice runs out after less than 20 miles. Which is fine for stop-start commutes, or runs to the gourmet grocery store. But when the electric runs out, the V8 seamlessly kicks in.
Where, for me, this new S 63 E is at its most spectacular is in simple everyday driving. In Comfort mode it’s whisper-quiet, serene, stealthy and silent as it glides along like a Gulfstream G500 for the road.
But see the gap in the traffic ahead, or need to slingshot hard out of an on-ramp, and a squeeze of the throttle will lunge the car forward like a rock out of a catapult.
And this is not just some straight-line dragster. Find yourself a twisty backroad, dial-up Sport or Sport+, and the big Benz awakens like a prodded Rottweiler. The exhaust growls, the steering sharpens, and the nine-speed automatic gets more urgent in its shifts.
Add to all this is the traction and stability of standard all-wheel drive, the curve-carving response of rear-wheel steering, and the body control of AMG’s Active Ride Control. Think of it as a technical tour de brute force.
Yet the car hasn’t forgotten its high-luxe S-class pedigree. Yes, the pricier Mercedes-Maybach S 580 ($203,500 and up) might slather on a few more luxury touches, but this $186,200 S 63 E is not far behind. The cabin is wall-to-wall diamond-quilted Nappa leather opulence.
Join me in the rear seat if you will. And let’s toast to AMG’s engineering brilliance with a flute of Cristal from the Champagne chiller tucked away behind the rear armrest.
For a little nap-time, a touch of a button will glide the front passenger seat way forward, recline your massaging-and-cooled seat and raise a footrest just like at your local AMC Cineplex.
Up front, drivers are cosseted in massaging Barcaloungers gazing at a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.8-inch tablet-like center display. It’s a true biz-jet cockpit though thankfully, most of its screen buttons are intuitive. Well kind of.
It also looks the part of the plutocratic powerhouse. That gaping maw of a grille with its pizza-sized, three-pointed star emblem, those air-gulping intakes and 21-inch AMG forged wheels. At over 208 inches nose to tail, it’s as long as an Escalade.
This is, without argument, one of the finest, most rewarding, most luxurious, high-performance sedans money can buy. Yes, BMW’s M760i hybrid is a close, but no-cigar alternative. Closer still is Bentley’s latest 717-hp Flying Spur with V8 hybrid power. But that’s likely to cost around $280,000.
No, when it comes to being corrupted by the sheer power, this Mercedes-AMG 63 E Performance rules supreme.
