Best AMG cars - Mercedes' all-time performance greats
From track-honed supercars to thundering sports saloons, Mercedes-AMG has produced countless performance car icons over the years. These are the best we’ve driven
AMG is going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment. The problem is that big, brash, loud V8s have long defined the AMG experience, and those are exactly the kind of engines that are coming under fire from ever more stringent noise and emissions regulations. Thus some of the latest AMGs no longer have the bark that they used to, and in the case of the latest four-cylinder hybrid C63, not much of a bark at all. Bringing the brain-fryingly complex AMG One hypercar to market hasn’t exactly been plain sailing, either.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. The latest AMG GT is an extremely competent sports car and more spacious and usable than ever, packing a twin-turbo V8 as a foil to the Porsche 911. The A45 S, meanwhile, is a stunning display of what’s possible to extract from a four-cylinder hatchback. Then there’s the AMG GT 4-door, which is getting long in the tooth but still an absolute rocketship in 831bhp E Performance guise.
There are of course endless highlights from the brand's history, too – some of them completely captivating to drive, and others just plain wacky (who thought putting a 6.2-litre V8 in the R-class minivan was a good idea?). With AMG going through a period of change at the moment, including the introduction of its first bespoke electric car, we thought it’d be a good idea to round up the finest models to wear the badge from past and present – and remind ourselves what future AMGs will need to live up to.
Best Mercedes AMG models
- Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance
- Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black Series
- Mercedes C63 AMG Edition 507
- Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series
- Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door
- Mercedes-AMG A45 S
- Mercedes-AMG SL63 (R231)
- Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe
Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance
The words ‘purity’, ‘lightweight’ and ‘simplicity’ aren’t in the AMG GT63 S E Performance’s vocabulary. Mercedes has thrown all its technical might behind its flagship supercoupe to create a genuine 911 Turbo rival, and the result is an 805bhp hybrid with a near 200mph top speed, four-wheel drive and the kind of suspension tech you’ll find on a McLaren. Oh, and the small matter of 2120kg to lug around…
The E Performance isn’t the most interactive or involving sports car around, but as a feat of engineering it leaves you slack-jawed at times. The way it deploys that mountain of power with such ease, feeling completely within itself, is almost surreal. And that sophisticated chassis tech makes it feel unflustered and calm across the ground in a way that something like an Aston Martin Vantage can’t match. Couple that with the backing track of a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 and you have a rounded, exceedingly capable sports car – not a match for the best for raw excitement, but almost untouchable in terms of capability.
‘Very little seems to faze it, even on the toughest stretches of road. It’s a cool customer but there are times when you can really revel in the grip and traction it's finding; the resulting speed – and momentum! – you can carry is crazy.’ – Richard Meaden, evo editor-at-large, who drove the Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance on the road in the UK.
Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black Series
In many ways the CLK Black Series is the quintessential AMG: a hot-rod with a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 up front, drive to the rear and a well-appointed cabin, all wrapped up in sinister, swollen-arches bodywork. It’s a monster now and seemed even more outrageous back in 2007, when its 500bhp power figure put it ahead of bonafide supercars like the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo.
Mercedes stripped out the rear seats and installed racing buckets for the full DTM vibe, as well as fully adjustable suspension. The result wasn’t exactly a V8-engined GT3, but still a rich, involving coupe that set the tone for AMGs to come.
‘Lethargic automatic gearbox aside, the Black Series is endlessly entertaining and challenging, capable enough that oversteer isn’t gratuitous but playful enough that you’re never more than a couple of corners away from an oversteer opportunity.’ – John Barker, evo editor-at-large, who drove the Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black Series on the road in the UK.
Mercedes C63 AMG Edition 507
If the CLK Black Series set the template for AMGs to come, the W204 C63 fully realised it in a mainstream car. It’s once again all about that fabulous 6.2-litre V8, but the package around it was brought right up to scratch to take on the BMW M3, eventually evolving into the run-out Edition 507 model. It wasn’t cheap, being £10k more than the standard car, but it would be the last naturally aspirated C63, with engine internals borrowed from the SLS supercar and a nice, round 500bhp.
By this point, the C63 had also gained a sharper-shifting MCT seven-speed gearbox, and there was an option of AMG Sports or Performance suspension, the latter being a stiffer setup. One essential option was a locking differential (which really should’ve been standard), and so equipped, the C63 is entertaining as small saloons come.
‘The steering is delightfully crisp and transparent, communicating nuances in the road surface and overall grip levels with remarkable clarity. This is a crucial aspect to the car’s overall dynamic behaviour, because you need to know exactly what the nose is doing before you can bring the rear into play – which is what this car is all about.’ – Nick Trott, former evo Editor, who drove the Mercedes C63 AMG Edition 507 on the road in the UK.
Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series
The ultimate version of the ultimate AMG was always going to be special, but the SLS Black Series still exceeded our expectations at launch. It had the drama and sense of purpose of a true road racer, and brought a thrilling driver's car out of the otherwise more mild-mannered standard SLS.
The Black Series upgrades spanned across the whole car, from the 6.2-litre V8 (up from 563bhp to 622) to a lightweighting programme that saved 70kg and of course the chassis, which was thoroughly reworked. All of this brought real edge and intensity to the SLS experience, resulting in a podium finish at eCoty 2013.
‘The engine gives magnificent, instant response matched by a steely, endless delivery that gets ever more frenetic towards the unlikely 8000rpm limiter. But more exciting is that the Black Series harnesses the power so cleanly. From the moment you lean on the ceramic brakes to the moment you punch hard through the gears on corner exit, it feels stable, precise and adjustable.’ – Jethro Bovingdon, former evo contributor, who drove the Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series on track on the launch.
Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door
The AMG GT 4-door isn’t, as its name implies, a four-door version of the AMG GT sports car. Instead it’s related to the conventional E63 saloon, but all the better for it – early versions of the first AMG GT were a little rough around the edges, and the 4-door felt more cohesive out of the box: performance from its 630bhp 4-litre V8 was ungodly, traction superb from its 4Matic+ all-wheel drive system, and its considerable two-ton-plus kerb weight managed effectively by the chassis.
Then Mercedes turned everything up to 11 (or 12) with the GT63 S E Performance version, giving it a hybrid system and 831bhp. It’s too much in every sense, yet it’s hard not to marvel at what the 4-door can do when fully unleashed.
‘The combined effect of all this hardware and software is simply huge performance, incredible grip levels even in slippery conditions, a great deal of driver confidence and, for the most part, an intuitive, cohesive dynamic character. The GT63 S E Performance really is quite shockingly fast and yet the chassis rarely scrabbles for traction or shows any signs of the weight pushing the car into understeer or tipping it into oversteer.’ – Jethro Bovingdon, former evo writer, who drove the GT63 S E Performance on the road in the UK.
Mercedes-AMG A45 S
Hot hatches are a dying breed, but those that remain are some of the most sophisticated and capable ever devised. The A45 S is at the very sharp end of this group, packing a 400bhp+ four-cylinder engine, four-wheel drive and the kind of chassis systems and configurability you'd normally expect to find in a modern super saloon. Hyper hatch is probably a more fitting description of the A45, given how much tech and performance AMG has stuffed into it.
In the A45’s arsenal is the most powerful four-cylinder engine in production, as well as a highly adjustable chassis with adaptive dampers and a locking rear differential, which apportions torque between the rear wheels to shape the car’s balance through a corner. It all comes together in a mightily effective and exciting car, even if it does lack the instant magnetism and approachability of an Audi RS3.
‘Once you start trusting it you can add more aggression to your driving and the A45 gives you more options. Turn in hard on the brakes and there’s a sense of mobility at the rear, and with the revs up high you can carry this attitude through as you jump back on the power, straighten the wheel and fire onto the next straight.’ – Yousuf Ashraf, evo senior staff writer, who drove the Mercedes-AMG A45 S on the road and on track in the UK.
Mercedes-AMG SL63 (R231)
Giving a drop-top boulevard cruiser a rowdy engine and stiffer suspension sounds like the makings of a compromised car, but the R231-generation SL63 is a cohesive package that seems to mould to your mood. An effortless, undemanding tourer one moment, and a snarling, entertaining sports GT the next, after pressing the right buttons. It’s not the kind of car that would clean up at eCoty, but as a sumptuous everyday roadster it fits the bill very nicely.
The 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 is ever present, rumbling at low revs and spitting out crackles on the overrun. It has so much power and torque (577bhp and 664lb ft) that you could probably get by with three gears, rather than the seven offered by the wet-clutch auto ‘box. It’s no hardened sports car, but the chassis can deal with all that thrust and makes the SL a fast, satisfying roadster to cover miles in.
‘There’s a lot of traction and despite the huge amount of torque, it’s not easy to unstick the rear wheels even when driving quickly. However when pushing hard, especially in Sport+ mode, the window between the tyres gripping and completely spinning feels vast. From mid-corner onwards your line can be adjusted with the throttle, with more throttle pushing the car into oversteer.’ – Will Beaumont, former evo writer, who drove the Mercedes-AMG SL63 on the launch.
Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe
The Mercedes S-class Coupe wasn’t exactly a strong seller, but after spending time in one – particularly an S63 – you’ll wonder why it didn’t tempt more people out of Aston Martins and Maseratis. It’s as soothing as grand tourers get, with the added bite of an AMG-tuned chassis and V8 engine to entertain when the moment allows.
Launched with a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 in 2014, and later upgraded (but downsized) to a more powerful 604bhp 4-litre unit, the S63 is packed with Mercedes’ full arsenal of tech – including a Magic Body Control system that can lean the car into bends, and Swarovski crystals in the headlights. Yes, really.
‘The tauter, more connected AMG chassis tuning that sometimes feels incongruous in the S-class saloon feels more appropriate in the lower, shorter coupe. The S63 still laps up bumps and undulations within its suspension, but the AMG treatment gives it more vertical control and keeps the body in sync with the road, and when specified with the optional Magic Body Control system, the air suspension’s ability to contain roll is almost freakish.’ – Yousuf Ashraf, evo senior staff writer, who drove the Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe in the UK.
