MERCEDES-AMG GLC63 S E-PERFORMANCE

YOUR DAILY BRAIN TEASER DOES 500KW GO INTO 1991CC?

- STEPHEN DOBIE

What's significant about the new 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S E-Performance? Let's start by winding the clock back 10 months to our first go in this car's sedan sibling, the latest Mercedes-AMG C63 S. It's not a car that bowled us over - its four-cylinder hybrid powertrain feeling overwrought after the muscle-car swagger of its older namesakes.

Well, this is the first time we've sampled the set-up since. While this GLC63 is almost 150kg heavier - at a gobsmacking 2310kg - much less historical weight is being carried on its shoulders. Halving the cylinder count of a performance car feels a less sacrilegious act when the car is already something of a sin in the first place. Namely, a fast SUV.

A 350kW tune of the Mercedes-AMG A45's 2.0-litre engine sits up front and pairs with a 150kW electric motor at the rear axle. They bond via a highly adaptable all-wheel-drive system the electric motor can actually send its power up front - with a 3.5sec 0-100km/h time the end result. In the context of EVs, that's not exactly shocking. Engage launch control and your brain will vehemently argue that point, though.

Just like the C63, you could probably write an entire thesis on the GLC63's technological prowess. Its electrical turbo is a 'direct derivative' of AMG's F1 program - less of a boast as Max Verstappen polishes his third title in a row, perhaps - while the electric motor is integrated with the limited-slip diff on the rear axle to help neaten the handling without the ESC needing to intervene.