Lightning Lap 2017: Mercedes-AMG E63 S

Lap Time: 2:55.4
Class: LL3
Base Price: $116,775
As-Tested Price: $135,260
Power and Weight: 603 hp • 4602 lb • 7.6 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, F: 265/35ZR-20 (99Y) R: 295/30ZR-20 (101Y)

Eleven years ago, when we started this whole Lightning Lap thing, if anyone had said that Mercedes would be making the hottest sedan in the world, we would have pointed and laughed at that person. But there’s nothing funny about a sedan that laps VIR in 2:55.4. This car is all business.

The E63 S’s success on track starts with a long-­established Affalterbach tactic: Cram the sedan’s engine bay with as much horsepower as you can. This 603-hp 4.0-liter is more powerful than even AMG’s track-beast GT R sports car (keep reading), and it propels this altered E-class to 154.8 mph on the front straight. The next-closest sedan on our all-time list is the 3.0-mph-slower 2016 Cadillac CTS-V, which lapped VIR 1.4 seconds behind the E63 S, and, while supercharged LT4s sound great, they have nothing on this engine note. If we were to give awards for subjective engine sounds [see “Earworms,” page 061], the E63 S would be our undisputed V-8 champ.

Unlike AMGs of a decade ago, this car can turn and brake with the best of them. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires pull 1.00 g in Turn 1, and the all-wheel-drive traction allows the E63 S to exit that turn at 75.7 mph, trailing only the GT R, Camaro ZL1 1LE, and 911 Turbo S. This sets up a very fast entrance to one of VIR’s trickiest corners, Turn 3—or NASCAR Bend.

It’s tricky because there is a kink just before it, and you must ask the car to turn slightly, slow down, and then turn in for T3 in a short chute, all while a tire wall stands ready to document your failure. It is very easy to over- or undercook this sequence. The E63 S rotates under braking like a mid-engine car, meaning you can turn the car with the brakes alone.

Get through NASCAR, and the rest of the lap is mystical. The $2500 Performance seats hold you in place, and the engine devours straightaways. Dionne Warwick must have tuned this car because it always seems to know what you’re about to do.

The E63 S never talks to walls because it fluently speaks the enthusiast’s language. A 4602-pound sedan so athletic means there is some serious magic happening at AMG right now.