If you enjoy destroying expensive rear tyres, we have some bad news for you. Mercedes-AMG boss Tobias Moers has confirmed that the new high-performance E63 will not be available in rear-wheel drive.
“It’s going to be four-wheel drive only,” Moers said, speaking at the recent launch of the GT R, according to topgear.com.
The reason for dropping rear-wheel drive? Well, Moers says buyers in this segment are “looking for four-wheel drive”, adding that 90% of customers in Germany opt for that configuration.
“But we are going to introduce a completely new four-wheel drive system, one which we’ve never had in the company. That’s going to be the biggest step we ever did with a generation,” he added.
The Mercedes-AMG chief also confirmed that the new E63 will employ a version of the 4,0-litre twin-turbo V8 currently used in the AMG GT and the C63 AMG.
“It’s a different level of power output. The block, crankshaft and so on are going to be the same, but the cylinder head and arrangement of turbochargers are different, though it will be a ‘hot in V’ as well,” he said.
Expect the new Mercedes-AMG E63 to be unveiled before the end of the year and launched locally towards the middle of 2017.
