Mercedes E63 AMG gets a tweak for 2011

The Mercedes E63 AMG gets a tweak or three for 2011

A year on from launch Mercedes has had a play with the E63 AMG for 2011 to get a few extra horses and a 12% improvement in economy.

The Mercedes E63 AMG debuted at the New York Motor Show last year. Which even in car terms isn’t exactly an age ago. We can’t be sure, but there’s a fair chance that it’s also not much more than six months since the first E63s arrived in customers’ hands in the UK.

But despite the newness of the E63 it’s up for a tweak or two to keep it fresh and competitive. Not, we hasten to add, the swapping out of the 6.2 litre V8 in favour of the new 5.5 litre twin turbo V8, but a slight jump in power and some interior twiddles.

None of the changes are enough to call this an E63 AMG facelift, but they’re enough for Mercedes to consider it worthwhile sending out a 2000 word press release. So what has changed so much it requires all that detail?

The 6.2 litre V8 gets retuned and now delivers 518bhp – an extra 11 horses. In the process of releasing extra horses Mercedes appears to have also found improvements in economy – to the tune of 12%. The E63 also gets the AMG Speedshift MCT 7-speed ‘box from the SL63 AMG, which probably helps the economy as it doesn’t use a torque converter. There’s also now a ceramic brake option.

There don’t appear to be any exterior changes to the E63, but there are a few tweaks to the interior. The top of the dash gets a covering of Artico leather, as does the door beltline. And the centre console gets treated to a dose of this year’s on-trend gloss black lacquer and there are also some new Designo options.

Nothing earth shattering. The extra horses are not something you would necessarily notice, but you should notice the 12% saving at the fuel pumps and the extra responsiveness of the MCT 7-speed ‘box.

Good tweaks. Unless you’ve just taken delivery of your nice new Mercedes E63 AMG.