Following the very recent introduction of the new 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon comes the astonishingly powerful AMG version. We’ve been fast-wagon junkies for years, and since carmakers generally don’t give their family haulers enough grunt, we have crafted a few high-horsepower grocery getters of our own and called them Boss Wagons. In 2005, the AMG-tuned Mercedes-Benz E55 wagon appeared, and its 469 hp made it possible for an entire family to win a drag race. That AMG wagon proved that one car could do the job of a minivan (carry seven occupants), a sports car (0–60 in 4.1 seconds), and a luxury car (its refined demeanor and leather interior made it no less coddling than an S-class). Its successor, the 507-hp E63 AMG wagon, was even quicker, running the 0–60 sprint in 4.0 seconds. (Watch the E63 wagon beat an Audi R8 at Milan Dragway.)
Slow sales of AMG’s superwagon and the weak economy had us worried that Mercedes-Benz wouldn’t bring this latest, 518-hp E63 AMG wagon to the U.S. After all, sales of its predecessor were in the low hundreds, making the E63 wagon rarer than the $450,000 McLaren SLR supercar. Plus, the other German manufacturers don’t bring their superwagons—the BMW M5 Touring and the Audi RS6 Avant, in particular—stateside. Why should Mercedes be any different?
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But we were relieved to hear at the Frankfurt auto show that unlike its peers—and despite conflicting reports—Mercedes-Benz will allow U.S. customers to special order the E63 wagon. Special-order AMG models aren’t anything new; a few unique customers (who may have been foaming at the mouth) were able to special order the R63 AMG, and a few slightly more rational customers were able to order the previous E63 wagon. This second-gen version should cost just below $100,000, or a few thousand more than the sedan.
Like the sedan, the wagon will get the new seven-speed multi-plate clutch transmission (MCT) also shared with the SL63. We estimate that the sedan version will hustle from 0 to 60 in 4.0 seconds. Traditionally, the AMG E-class wagon has been quicker than the sedan thanks to the additional weight it carries over its rear wheels. Every AMG wagon we’ve tested thus far has outperformed its sedan equivalent; we have no reason to believe that the new E63 wagon will be any different. So, how does an estimated 0–60 time of 3.9 seconds sound? It sounds mighty fine to us, although there is one thing that would be even finer, and that’s Mercedes telling us they’ve put an E63 wagon in the U.S. press fleet.
Tony Quiroga is a 20-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, and car reviewer and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955. He has subscribed to Car and Driver since age six. "Growing up, I read every issue of Car and Driver cover to cover, sometimes three or more times. It's the place I wanted to work since I could read," Quiroga says. He moved from Automobile Magazine to an associate editor position at Car and Driver in 2004. Over the years, he has held nearly every editorial position in print and digital, edited several special issues, and also helped produce C/D's early YouTube efforts. He is also the longest-tenured test driver for Lightning Lap, having lapped Virginia International Raceway's Grand Course more than 2000 times over 12 years.
