The current Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W212) has been around since 2009 as the 2010 model, and the new W213 generation E-Class is going to debut as soon as next year.
Above image: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
Obviously, AWD was not considered for the current E63 AMG model during the initial W212 chassis design phase. This is indicated by the fact that the later E63 AMG 4Matic version is not available for right-hand-drive markets, due to reason that the AWD mechanical parts, installed on the right-hand side of the transmission assembly, including the extra drive shaft that sends power to the front wheels, block the steering components for the RHD version. Therefore, the E63 AMG sold in RHD markets are all rear-wheel-drive.
However, Mercedes will fix this issue in the W213 E-Class. Not only 4Matic AWD will be available to the E63 AMG, but also it is so critical that Mercedes even intends to make AWD the only option in the next E63 AMG, for both right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive markets.
The future W213 E63 AMG will be powered by the latest M177 4.0L twin-turbo V8 engine, which can also be found in the 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 and C63 S (see our exclusive technical analysis of the Mercedes M177/178 engine here). The M177 engine has output as high as 503hp on the C63 AMG, so we can safely bet the new E63 AMG will has at least that number of HP.
The benefit of introducing AWD into the E63 AMG is easy to understand. By distributing the enormous 500+hp to all of the 4 wheels (instead of just the two rear-wheels), it significantly lowers the possibility of wheel slipping under hard acceleration, or help to maintain control when doing high-speed cornering.
However, from our previous AWD system review, you can see the current 4Matic system on Mercedes cars (non-SUV models) is not as powerful as Audi and Lexus. It provides a very small amount of limited slip capability (36.9 lb-ft only). This means if any one of the wheel lost traction, it will immediately affecting all the rest 3 wheels, leaving them just a very small amount of torque and power. So do not be confused by the name of “AWD”, all-wheel-drive systems are not created equal: not just in different makes, but is also true in different models within the same brand.
Of course, Mercedes may make enhancements to the new E63 AMG’s 4Matic system, for example adding more limited slip capability for the center differential; implementing effective torque vectoring feature for the front/rear differentials.
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