Big Bodies
When we visited the big Mercedes-Benz factory in Tuscaloosa, we ended our day in a massive darkened warehouse, just up the road and across the street from the main factory. We entered the building and passed a small open kitchen/breakroom setup making our way to a section of the space that had been blocked with black pipe and drape. Inside were the performance variants of the GL-Class, the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupé and the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63.
Along with the rest of the GL-Series line, the AMGs get updated styling. The new front fascia gets AMG-specific grilles, intakes and a new AMG headlight signature. It’s more subtle update than wholesale refresh, but it does look a bit more aggressive and will be noticeable on the street.
The AMG M177 EVO four-liter biturbo V8 gets the most notable updates. A flat-plane crankshaft, redesigned intake and exhaust ports and a mild hybrid system were added for emissions compliance reasons and for reduced vibration and improved throttle response. The hybrid system adds 23hp and 153 ft-lbs of torque to the total output, 603hp and 627 ft-lbs of torque. These figures match those of the outgoing motor, but are part of a raft of improvements designed to ensure that the engine remains emissions compliant globally.
There’s also a new adjustable exhaust. Mercedes says the AMG GLS 63 S will do 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and the AMG GLE 63 S can do it in 3.6 seconds. Top speeds are electronically limited to 174-mph, we’ll try to confirm all that when we can.
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