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Well, the headline could easily have been the whopping 585hp, 900Nm version of the AMG 5.5 BiTurbo V8 engine that Mercedes is plonking into the S 63 AMG Coupé. It could even have been that this vast, luxurious four-seat coupé can sprint from standstill to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds, depending on which model you choose. Or that, in spite of all the extra performance, it actually weighs 65kg less than the old CL 63 model and can even get within shouting distance of 30mpg on the NEDC fuel economy test.
However, inescapably, the one headline feature of the new V8 S-Class Coupé is that, like a motorbike, it can actually lean into bends.
Yup, it's the latest development of the Magic Body Control system already seen on the S-Class saloon. It uses cameras and radar to scan the road ahead and tell the suspension what's coming up. The Curve Tilting function takes that system and adds hydraulic actuators. Now when the car sees a corner coming up, the computers judge the severity of the curve, add in the car's speed and can lean the body into the bend at angles of up to 2.5 degrees. Doesn't sound like a lot but Mercedes claims that it adds greatly to occupant comfort. Incidentally, it's all about comfort and not, rather refreshingly, about trying to set new records around the Nürburgring. The system is active between speeds of 30- and 180km/h.
Anything else?
That 65kg weight saving is largely down to three factors: the large amount of aluminium in the S-Class Coupé's structure, the standard fit forged alloy wheels and the new carbon-ceramic brake discs.
Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG said that "the new S 63 AMG Coupé is another exciting AMG dream car in the luxury segment. Mercedes-AMG is putting the pedal to the metal again in the New Year. Our model initiative is set to continue at blistering pace in 2014."
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