Man, “you’re out here eating up Hellcats!” That’s what the guy in the Dodge Charger Scat Pack said after twice lining up against the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 E-Performance plug-in hybrid at Rockingham Dragway. The big Benz, sporting a head-turning Kalahari gold metallic paint job (a $1750 option, by the way), might not look like a drag strip dominator. I even jokingly dubbed it “Champagne Supernova” on the tech sheet.
The S63 E-Performance, however, is a sleeper. Beneath its stately exterior lurks a beast. While it may not scream 791 horsepower and a colossal 1055 pound-feet of torque, under the hood is a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 generating 603 horsepower combined with an electric motor adding another 188 hp. It’s engineered like a party on both sides of your head.
The electric motor is linked to its exclusive two-speed transmission, providing max power for about 10 seconds before scaling back to 94. And 10 seconds, in my estimation, feels like just enough time to conquer the quarter-mile. Off the line? It feels like a 10-second car. But, is it?
I’ve only officially driven a 10-second quarter-mile once, in a Hennessey Hammer Wagon at Darlington. I’m pretty sure I did so in the McLaren 765LT, but my timing equipment malfunctioned early on. I was just barely there with a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye at Fayetteville, but never reached the 10-second mark. Even for the ridiculous levels of horsepower found in modern muscle cars and supercars (and EVs), a 10-second quarter-mile remains a rare feat.
But, the S63 felt different. With a wet clutch, all-wheel drive, and launch control, the S63 took off like it was going to tear the front tires off the ground. The drag-race term for that sort of launch is a “paper-slipper”.
Initially, I struggled to activate launch control. Regardless, the Benz still clocked runs in the 11.3-second range at 126 mph. That’s respectable, but not quite what I was aiming for. After some consultation with the AMG addendum, I realized my starting-line demeanor was too relaxed. Launch control required an aggressive approach: holding the brake with my left foot and flooring the accelerator with my right. At that point, the V-8 revved at nearly 4000 rpm, and releasing the brake launched me toward what felt like a sub-3.0-second sprint to 60 mph.
On my first launch-control pass, I heard a spectator exclaim, “That m———r’s fast!” After another run, someone called out, “Is that an AMG?” Yes. “What’ve you done to it?” Nothing. This is just how they build them now. And I snuck into the 11.1-second range, but the S63 couldn’t go any faster. Which is still crazy fast! And this car can give you a hot stone massage and waft a signature fragrance from the HVAC vents. The S63 E-Performance is a remarkable answer to the question, “Where does an S-class fit in a G-class world?” It’s both stately and menacing, like Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple.
The S63 remained undefeated, even besting a formidable regular-cab F-150 with what sounded like a supercharged Coyote engine. A guy in a Jeep Trackhawk challenged me to a run. He later decided he wanted to race the F-150. I suspect my perfect record might have been shattered. The Jeep owner wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with a photo of his Trackhawk, and I asked if I was about to learn not to run against someone who has a picture of their car on their sweatshirt. He laughed as if to confirm that this scenario was the case.
Although I never broke into the 10s, I think my sense that the S63 is a 10-second car is correct. Around 80 mph the power felt as if there was a flat spot, before a sudden surge. This happened on every run, around the same place. Then I realized I was feeling the shift from the two-speed transmission at the rear axle. That pause and surge is the electric motor hitting its limit, then rejoining the party after the upshift. As Benz’s tech material says, “An electric actuator engages second gear by approximately 87 mph, which corresponds to the electric motor’s maximum speed of around 13,500 rpm.”
If I may offer a suggestion, perhaps the gear ratios could be adjusted. Maybe the shift could occur at 130 mph, or earlier, before the electric motor maxes out. Because I want to break into the 10s, I have a feeling that Champagne Supernova has the potential.
Ezra Dyer
Senior Editor
Ezra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s based in North Carolina but still remembers how to drive.
