AFFALTERBACH (Germany): From the home of Mercedes-AMG comes the mighty E 53 in a coupe and a drop-top cabriolet body styles.
To mark its membership into the "AMG family", the AMG-specific radiator grille with 12 vertical slats have been fitted.
In addition, the E 53 has been slapped with a pair of flattened A-shaped LED headlights, redesigned front bumper with an A-wing design, enlarged inlet vents for cooling purposes, new front splitter and on top of all that (literally) are the twin power-domes on the hood.
At the back, round twin tailpipe trim elements (in silver chrome or a high gloss black that's part of the optional AMG Night Package) that have been integrated into the bumper.
The boys at AMG have also redesigned the rear wheel-arches to clean up the air before it reaches the rear end, thus improving aerodynamics there while the boot lip that can be had in matching body colour or carbon fibre as an option provides some stabilising downforce.
The wheel arches are filled in with new 19-inch alloys that have also been aerodynamically optimised with a five-spoke design while a 20-inch lightweight option is also available on the table.
For the exterior colour palette, Graphite Grey Metallic and designo Brilliant Blue Magno are available along with a matte finish which was previously reserved for the AMG GT family.
With the optional AMG Night Package, the Coupe and Cabriolet body styles get their outside mirror housings, window frames, plus trim elements in the front and rear bumper are styled in high-gloss black while the tailpipes get a black chrome application.
Enter the AMG Carbon Fiber Package II and that adds individual highlights with mirror caps and a spoiler lip on the trunk lid in carbon fibre.
Inside, the cabin has been fitted with large displays, a new AMG Performance steering wheel and the MBUX infotainment system with AMG-specific functions and displays to emphasise that AMG Performance Luxury ambience.
The standard seats are upholstered in MB-Tex with Dinamica microfiber in an AMG-specific design with red contrasting topstitching and AMG badging
Further interior options include red seat belts and trim elements in carbon fibre with other upholstery options that include Nappa leather in black or titanium grey pearl with red contrast stitching.
Two displays for the instrument cluster and multimedia screen blend together beneath a shared glass cover to form the Widescreen Cockpit and allows the owner to choose between three AMG display styles for the instrument cluster, including a "Supersport" mode that features a central round rev counter.
Additional information is presented with bars to the left and right of the rev counter and via the AMG menu, the driver can select various special displays such as Engine Data, gear speed indicator, Warm-up, Set-up, G- Meter and Racetimer.
The new flat-bottomed twin-spoke AMG Performance steering wheel is wrapped in either leather and Dinamica microfiber or as a combination of the two materials which partially hide the galvanised and enlarged paddle-shifters that positioned lower.
The steering wheel buttons are now rounded with new icons before integrating a new sensor mat to recognize "hands-on" the wheel and if the driver does not have their hands on the steering wheel for a certain time, a warning sequence is started which finally activates Emergency Brake Assist if the driver continues to be inactive.
The new switches integrated into the surfaces of the steering wheel possesses Haptic sensing aids in the area of the symbols to aid ease of control and the lower spokes houses the cruise control or Distronic (left) and telephone/hands-free system/volume control (right).
Under the hood lies an enhanced 3.0-litre (2,999cc) inline-six turbocharged engine with an electric auxiliary compressor to help generate 429hp and 520Nm of torque with an additional 21hp and 250Nm ready to serve thanks to its EQ Boost starter-generator while also feeding the 48V onboard electrical system.
The company says that its start/stop function is now virtually imperceptible when the engine restarts.
Managing power delivery to the variable 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system is a nine-speed 9G-Tronic transmission that allows the E 53 to zip from 0 to 100kph in 4.5 seconds before reaching a top speed of 250kph.
The AMG brake system is made up of 14.6-inch cross-drilled ventilated discs with fixed four-piston callipers at the front while the rears use of 14.2-inch solid discs with floating single-piston callipers.
Through the Dynamic Select driving programs, it offers five modes of Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and "Individual".
The AMG Dynamics vehicle dynamics control (accessible via the steering wheel buttons) is integrated into the AMG Dynamic Select drive programs in that the Basic, Advanced and Pro levels influence the control strategies of the electronic stability programme or the all-wheel-drive system for instance.
The suspension uses the AMG Ride Control+ system that controls the air suspension system developed in-house in Affalterbach.
It uses a multi-chamber air suspension system coupled with a sporty spring/damper set-up and continuously adjustable damping ADS+ (Adaptive Damping System) to provide for high driving dynamics as well as ride comfort.
Finally, damping at each wheel is adjusted to suit the current driving situation and the condition of the road while the damping characteristics can also be preselected in three modes of Comfort, Sport and Sport+.
