Style: January 11, 2019

70 STYLE | motoring
FEEL THE THUNDER
Big engines still hold plenty of appeal for motoring writer Ross Kiddie.
He checks out the powerful V8, which sits in Mercedes-Benz’s GLC AMG 63S.
LIKES
Sound of thunder from the engine
Smooth shifting transmission
DISLIKES
Road noise
High price
PRICE
Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 63S,
$184,900
DIMENSIONS
Length, 4744mm; width, 2090mm;
height, 1577mm
CONFIGURATION
V8, four-wheel-drive,
3982cc, 375kW, 700Nm,
nine-speed automatic.
PERFORMANCE
0-100km/h, 3.8sec
FUEL USAGE
11.9l/100km
There’s little doubt that the way we view automobiles is changing with a
global demand for fuel efficiency and fewer emissions. Most manufacturers
are looking at ways to address those issues, and that’s showing with an everincreasing
number of hybrids and electric vehicles reaching our market. I’m not
rebelling against the electric revolution, but the reality is I’ll find it hard to give up
my desire for internal combustion engines, and the bigger and more powerful
they are, the better.
I know Mercedes-Benz is developing electric models, and it’s only a matter of
time before they arrive en masse down under. I don’t know where that leaves
its big cars, and the big engines, but in the interim I can be very grateful that I’ve
sampled some of the best engines to come out of Germany, as well as some of
the most powerful.
My latest foray into the high-performance driveline was in the AMG GLC
63S sport utility vehicle, a large wagon that also comes in coupe-like form, both
sharing the 4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8.
It’s a monster in terms of power outputs – 375kW and 700Nm – the latter
available all of the way from 1750rpm to 4500rpm and, if you take into account
peak power is on tap all of the way to 6250rpm, it’s no wonder I’m hooked. The
GLC is a super-quick, high top-speed car, and you’d expect nothing less from the
performance arm of Mercedes-Benz. AMG claims a 3.8sec standstill to 100km/h
acceleration time along with a governed 250km/h top end.
These figures are fantastic, making the GLC one of the quickest cars I’ve
driven, and it does so in a way that you know you are travelling fast; even in