Mercedes-Benz Goes Insane, Offers 'Drift Mode' on the 2018 AMG E63 S

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

The Mercedes-AMG E63 is a notoriously maniacal car, but Americans have been saddled with the 4Matic all-wheel-drive version while Europeans enjoyed the option of rear-wheel drive. That meant no ludicrous AMG-induced burnouts west of the Atlantic for E-Class customers.

Now everyone can have an all-wheel-drive AMG E63, and everyone — with the money — can also do glorious burnouts while proudly waving their various flags out the driver’s side window.

That’s because the 2018 Mercedes-AMG E63 S Sedan comes standard with, and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, an official “Drift Mode.” While previous models favored a definitively rear-wheel bias, it was still technically around the clock 4Matic all-wheel-drive.

The fifth generation E-Class AMGs get the benefit of 4Matic Plus, which allows for variable torque distribution between the front and rear axles. And, should you want to burn off a pair of tires, you can spend the extra money on the E63 S and press a button that sends all of the power to the rear end.

And there should be adequate power, too. The AMG 4.0-liter biturbo on the E63 S makes 603 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque available from 2,500 to 4,500 rpm. Mercedes says this gives the German monster a 3.3 second 0-60 time. If you want to keep your tires a little longer, the “regular” AMG E63 offers up 563 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. While only a tenth of a second slower to sixty miles per hour, it is electronically limited to 155 mph — compared to the S sedan’s 186 mph.

That’s a major upgrade for both cars, considering the previous E63 S sedan’s twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 produced 577 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque.

Both cars come with a nine-speed transmission with wet start-off clutch in lieu of a torque converter. They also come with selectable drive programs that modify the response of the engine, transmission, suspension, steering, and ESP. They range from “Comfort” to “Sport Plus” on the AMG E63, while the S Sedan also gets a “RACE” mode that Mercedes-Benz decided to word in all caps to further illustrate how extreme it must be. While intended for track use, the race mode will really only ever be used as active launch control for explosive stoplight getaways or paired with drift mode to do donuts in an affluent cul-de-sac.

The new E-Class performance sedans will officially premiere on November 16 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. U.S. dealerships should have them in the summer of 2017.

[Images: Mercedes-Benz]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • StarAZ StarAZ on Oct 26, 2016

    Great. Another car to look out for in addition to the Mustang and Focus RS

  • Lon888 Lon888 on Oct 26, 2016

    Call me crazy but I don't see 99.9% of the buyers of this car doing any hoonage. I see these as being owned by straight-laced cardiologists.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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