What's the news?
Mercedes-AMG is going to give the E-Class Estate the same ultimate performance treatment as the four-door saloon version, giving us surely the two of the fastest estate cars ever built - the E 63 4Matic+ Estate and the even wilder E 63 S 4Matic+. Both of these bad boys will get their world debuts at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, prior to sales starting in early summer.
Exterior
Think of a Mercedes-AMG E 43 Estate with added attitude. Like the saloon, the powerful E 63 has wheel arches that are flared by 27mm to allow for the car's wider track, which gives the V8-powered Mercedes-AMG a muscular, aggressive appearance. The wagon's singular intent is also clearly conveyed by the A-wing lower front bumper with black flics and the chrome twin-bars running horizontally from the big star badge in the grille. The keen-eyed among you might also note that the E 63 Estate has a different bonnet treatment to any other E-Class, the E 43 included; this V8 version has almost a 'clamshell'-type aperture that is inset between the wings and the bumper, this move supposed to invoke thoughts of coupes.
Elsewhere, there's obviously 63-badging for the rear hatch and a 'V8' legend is added to the 'Biturbo 4Matic' logo on the wings that is otherwise shared with the E 43, a vehicle powered by a V6 engine. Meatier side sills lead the eye along the flanks of the E 63 to the rear, where there's a diffuser in the lower apron and chunkier quad exhausts than those found on the 43 - Mercedes-AMG says it has tuned the 'hallmark AMG V8' sound specifically for the Estate model.
Interior
It's very, very similar inside to the E 43's cabin, but there are a few key differences. The steering wheel is one such area, as - while it's the same flat-bottomed shape as the E 43's - the 63's features Alcantara grips on each side, a 12 o'clock marker in grey and the hallowed AMG letters on the silver trim of the wheel's bottom spar. There's also an AMG logo on the cover for the cupholders, the option of AMG Performance Seats with integral head restraints and additional screens in the cluster/console screen.
Expect the E 63 to receive all the 'Intelligent Drive' assist systems that can be found elsewhere in the E-Class family, as well as plenty of other high-end toys, while of course the reason you pick the Estate instead of the E 63 four-door is due to its additional boot space. Capacity is rated at 640 litres with all the seats in place and 1,820 litres with the rear chairs folded away, although you can liberate an additional 30 litres of boot space and keep all five seats in action thanks to a function that allows the rear-seat backrests to be tilted forward by 10 degrees.
Mechanicals
Currently, the fastest E-Class Estate you can buy is the E 43 we keep mentioning. It, like the 63, has four-wheel drive and a nine-speed automatic transmission, linked to a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre petrol V6 engine delivering healthy figures of 401hp and 520Nm. That equates to a 0-100km/h time of 4.7 seconds and a 250km/h limited top speed. Fast enough, surely?
Not for AMG of Affalterbach. So dropped into the engine bay is the firm's 4.0-litre 'hot inside V' biturbo V8 engine. You can have this in two trims: the 'regular' E 63 makes 571hp and 750Nm, which are colossal numbers in themselves; but add one letter to that badge for the E 63 S and you have one of the most crazily quick load-luggers yet built, thanks to outputs of 612hp and 850Nm. With the AMG Speedshift MCT nine-speed gearbox and an advanced version of the company's all-wheel drive, called 4Matic+, performance is ridiculous - the E 63 will do 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds, the E 63 S trimming that a touch to 3.5 seconds. Both these wagons weigh two tonnes without a driver on board, the S slightly heavier to the tune of 10kg at 1,995kg all-in; whichever E 63 you consider, though, it has to be said that to get something so big to move so quickly is phenomenal engineering.
Top speed, as standard, is limited to the same 250km/h, as in the E 43, but an optional AMG Driver's Package will lift that electronic nanny to 290km/h. Unlimited, we have little doubt either version of the E 63 would crack 320km/h with ease. Yet it's not all about rabid power, as the V8 can shut off half its cylinders under light throttle loads to save on fuel. Mercedes-AMG quotes reasonable figures (for estates with c.600hp) of 9.1 litres/100km (31mpg) and 206g/km of CO2 emissions for both cars, which compares well to the E 43's equivalent data of 8.4 litres/100km (33.6mpg) and 197g/km.
As well as the sharp AMG Speedshift gearbox, much of the rest of the E-Class hardware has been upgraded to cope with all this grunt. The AMG Dynamic Select features four modes - Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual - on the E 63, with a 'Race' mode added for the S. The suspension and air 'springs' are calibrated specifically for the 63 twins, while the damping can be switched through three modes (Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus) as well. Both models get a rear differential lock, the E 63's a mechanical item and the E 63 S utilising an electronically controlled version, while the S also benefits from dynamic engine mounts - said to be unique in the performance estate segment. AMG speed-sensitive steering is fitted and the brakes are monsters: the E 63's are ventilated and perforated compound discs of 360mm diameter all round, with six-piston callipers up front; while the E 63 S has larger 390mm front discs as standard, or it can be specified with the AMG Carbon Ceramic braking system as an option - the front discs then swelling to 402mm items as a result.
Anything else?
Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, said: "The new AMG E 63 Estate combines our brand's hallmark driving dynamics with high everyday practicality. It is not for nothing that the model has been a permanent fixture in the AMG portfolio for 40 years. The powerful engine and the intelligent all-wheel drive underpin our claim to always be at the forefront of development when it comes to performance."
Click here to read our review of the saloon version of the new Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4Matic+.