When you have the best in its class car and still want to make it better, then it means you have either grown bored of the run of the mill thing or clamor for something more and probably something a class above. It can also mean that you can never be satisfied with one thing ever. Because of people like you, fellow road users as well as journos like us are treated to glorious wails from those bored out exhausts or modified cam lift chains. Because of people like you, tuners thrive and sometimes even make a company. One such well known firm is AMG. It can be called as the tuner division of Mercedes Benz.
AMG doesn’t actually take up any random Mercedes car and tune it up. It actually first sees how many requests do they get for tuning up a particular car. Based on this response, they acutally create factory versions for sale. Contrary to popular belief, AMG don’t just tune up a car by taking into factor its engine build up and all. They actually build a new engine from scratch. Once you order an AMG tuned car, it would take approximately 45 days for your car to be delivered to you. Each car is assigned to a particular engineer and the engine even carries the signature of that engineer. This is done to ensure that the car, if has any problem, can be traced down to the engineer who built it. Hell, they even have acoustic engineers who actually listen to the sound track and then tune the exhaust so that you scare the day lights off fellow road users.
One such specimen from the Mercedes AMG stable, recently launched, is the Mercedes ML 63 AMG. Now, we all know that Mercedes cars never lack power. Infact most of the cars are over powered and rarely do we get to use the reserve power on tap. However AMG thinks otherwise. They think that people do buy and use Mercedes cars dime a dozen however AMG provides them with exclusivity. Not many can claim to have an AMG powered car. The Mercedes ML 63 AMG is now powered by a 6208 cc V8 petrol engine. This engine now gives 510 bhp and a gut wrenching torque of 630 Nm. These figures alone are enough to rival some of the sports car. Mated to this engine is the AMG SPEEDSHIFT 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission coupled with paddle shifts. The acceleration is blitzkrieg and 0-100 kmph comes up in a scant 4.4 seconds. It reaches a top speed of 230 kmph. The cabin is hush about all the ruckus the engine creates and it is only past 6,300 rpm that you can get to hear that glorious wail frm the quadra pipes. This is considering that the Mercedes ML 63 AMG now weighs in a porky 2310 kg. This means an increase of 200 kgs after the AMG treatment.
AMG treatment doesn’t limit only to engine. It also strips the interior furnishings as well and replaces them with race models AMG titled ones. The seats are way too comfortable than the regular Mercedes ML. However the race built suspension now means the ride is firmer and nowhere near that of the regular Mercedes ML. Cornering powress has now increased and the Mercedes ML 63 AMG now glues to the track much like a BMW X5. I am not sure how many of the owners would appreciate the harsh ride quality of this car now.
The fuel efficiency is now pegged at 5.5 kmpl in the city and about 9.2 kmpl on the highway. Not that many of the Mercedes ML 63 AMG buyers would care about it. If you have Rs.1.25 crores to spend, you probably would have a petrol station or two. The exteriors for the Mercedes ML 63 AMG somehow seem like those of the regular car even though that is far from the truth. I am still not sure where exactly are the ML owners gonna try the full potential of the AMG name lurking under the hood. God bless them.
2010 Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG Specifications
Engine Type: V8 AMG
Displacement cu in (cc): 6208
Driveline: Power in bhp at RPM: 510 @ 6800
Torque in Nm at RPM: 630 @ 5200
Redline at RPM: 8200
Length × Width × Height in inches: 189.8 × 76.8 × 73.3
Acceleration 0-100 kmph in seconds: 4.4
Top Speed (km/h): 230 (electronically limited)
Brakes Front: AMG vented disc with ABS
Brakes Rear: AMG Solid discs with ABS
Tyres front: 295/45 R19, tubeless
Tyres rear: 295/50 R19, tubeless
Drive train: All Wheel Drive
Transmission: AMG SPEEDSHIFT 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission
Cargo capacity: 450 liters
Seating capacity: 5
Weight in kg: 2310
Fuel Economy: ARAI city/highway in km/liter 5.5/9.2
