Mercedes-Benz is in a perpetual state of becoming, a requisite for any civilization or company to thrive long-term. Seen here is not just a big boy S-class sport-limo in a custom-order shade of blue, but the AMG S 63 S E, with a combined gas-electric 791 horsepower, the most powerful S-class ever built, yet another testament to AMG’s act of becoming.
Becoming can also mean reinvention building upon achievement, and Mercedes has for more than 120 years offered tailor-made car-building, the most famous being the very first “Mercédès” of 1901.
MANUFAKTUR Studio is the branded name for Mercedes’ reconstituted in-house custom-build facility in Sindelfingen, where Mercedes has constructed big-bore cars for 110 years. MANUFAKTUR Studio offers Mercedes, AMG and Maybach buyers a 21st Century process for special-order car-building, extending the act of becoming. Call it MBA Kraftwerk.
MANUFAKTUR now offers more than 50 colors and numerous interior hides and trim. For the exuberant, several colors are on the wild side: oranges that remind of a desert sunset, a lush shade of yellow, and a neon jungle green that should pop on an AMG GT 63. Most are jewel and earth tones, like the Quartz Blue on this test car.
Because the car here was specially built to showcase the talents of the Sindelfingen paint shop and stitchery, it’s the only such S-class currently on the road. Rarely does one see a blue jewel of these dimensions. When I offered folks a peek at the Amaretto leather inside, jaws slackened ever so slightly. Inevitably, hands reached for the buttery soft headrest pillows.
AMG’s S 63 S E has not been available for too long in the U.S. No matter if you’re whispering along while driving Miss Daisy, shepherding a precocious Eloise to school, or hammering away like the wheelman in that bank heist movie “Heat,” S 63 S E is a supreme performer. Here again, we find becoming, as AMG has been evolved into a full-fledged carmaker, able to develop complex and highly advanced powertrains.
Producing 603 horsepower and 664 lb.-ft. of torque, the 4-liter twin-turbo V8 is hand-assembled on the AMG one-man/one-engine niche line. Yes, the builder scribes his name on the engine. And yes, the V8 alone has more than enough power to bring this chassis to life. The one-man/one-engine niche line was an early act of becoming for AMG.
But AMG carries the S-class to brave frontiers, mounting its well-proven 235 lb.-ft. electric motor/battery pack between the rear wheels. Combined gas-electric power is almost beyond comprehension for a sport-limo: 791 horsepower and 1055 lb.-ft. of torque.
This is by far the most powerful S-class ever offered, and that mountain of torque is available over a very wide engine rev range. All that power flows through AMG’s 9-speed transmission and fully variable all-wheel drive.
Around town, S 63 S E is whisper-quiet, easily navigating traffic in spite of its considerable length and heft, a serviceable everyday vehicle that “drives” much smaller than it is. The gauge pod offers a display providing instant readouts of just how much (or little) horsepower and torque is being used. Morning traffic requires little more than a burble.
Most of the several hundred miles I logged were in Los Angeles suburban traffic. Children in school uniforms jokingly referred to fictional characters of childhood like Eloise at the Plaza Hotel, which led to jokes about being Kevin McCallister of Home Alone fame staying at the Plaza and using limos to reach toy stores. And no, we didn’t risk a cheese pizza in the back seats.
Children were bemused by Executive Plus optional features, fiddling with the sleeper position, whooshing privacy screens up and down, or fiddling with flatscreens. Passenger entry and exit is graceful and glamorous thanks to those huge rear doors, even when hoisting rucksacks and violin cases.
Suspension set to Comfort, the ride is creamy without any hint of numb sloppiness—that reassuring gentleness only a muscular parent can ever truly deliver. Tar strips on concrete roads or undulations in asphalt reach the cabin as mere timpani strikes, not breaking the sense of serenity, the suspension architecture easily managing the weight and size of those 21-inch wheels.
But with so much athletic ability so easily applied, driving like a bank robber is irresistible, that call of the wild once the school carline is left behind. AMG S 63 S E doesn’t feel like a mid-size car that’s been stretched beyond its abilities, with brittle, jouncy suspension. Nor is it a wallowing heavyweight that leaves the driver feeling lost in a zero-gravity anechoic chamber. S 63 S E puts the sport in sport-limo. Thanks to impeccable man-machine relationship, driving S 63 S E like a bank robber is an earthly pleasure.
Find a freeway onramp, mash the throttle pedal and the car squats down, electric torque nearly overwhelming traction at the rear. But before your brain can comprehend, the fully variable all-wheel drive shoots “excess” torque and power forward to the front wheels, and one absolutely senses the front tires clawing into the pavement. The long wheelbase is advantageous, ensuring a stable trajectory. AMG’s claim of 0-60 mph in 3.3 was validated, many times.
The S 63 S E swims comfortably through traffic, a joy to drive when set to Comfort for lollygagging, or in the more aggressive settings, hammer down. Best of all was backseat chatter about Eloise and Kevin McCallister at the Plaza Hotel. Children always recognize the fun, the amusing aspects of a car, and S 63 S E entertains, an unprecedented evolution of the ultra-luxury sport-limo species.
