A History of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class AMGs

1986: AMG Drops the Hammer

The same year that Stanley Burrell took on the name of MC Hammer, the tuners in Affalterbach released the car that would raise them to the status of international automotive superstars. The past two decades had seen them building racing engines and tuning up cars already on the road, eventually expanding operations to building their own handmade engines based off the Benz building blocks; by the 1980s, AMG was ready to build complete machines that could showcase their potential.

The arrival of the W124-generation E-Class — the first Mercedes to use that name — proved an ideal launchpad for their vision. The heart of this new beast, of course, would be its engine. AMG took the Mercedes 5.0-liter V-8 from the era’s S-Class and worked serious magic on it, pushing displacement to 5.5 liters and replacing the Benz single-cam-dual-valve setup with their in-house twin-cam-four-valve system. (Mercedes would introduce its own 5.5-liter V-8 by the time AMG’s car arrived, but the two motors should not be confused.) The motor punched out 355 horsepower and 388 lb-ft of torque — this in an era when the BMW M5 maxed out at 282 hp. A beefed-up four-speed automatic and driveline helped all that power make its way to the rear wheels, while the suspension was lowered and sharpened versus the regular E, and gummy Pirellis wrapped around the five-spoke AMG wheels. An aggressive body kit, meanwhile, gave the otherwise-staid W124 the visuals to hint at what was packed underneath.

The car was formally known as the Mercedes-Benz 300E 5.6 AMG, but it quickly became known by another name: the Hammer. After all, this was a blunt instrument of a four-door that could keep up with some of the best sports cars of the day. In Car and Driver’s testing, it went from 0-60 miles per hour in five seconds flat and blitzed the quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds at 107 mph, en route to a 178 mph top speed — effectively identical to the Ferrari Testarossa on sale at the same time. And as if that weren’t enough, come 1987, AMG unveiled a 6.0-liter V-8 version that made even more power: 375 hp and 407 lb-ft of torque.

Of course, the Hammer’s base price of $125,000 was more than $30,000 north of the Testarossa, and amounts to around $362,000 in 2025 dollars — nearly twice the price of the most expensive sedan AMG sells today. Yet while it never sold in massive numbers — 30 or fewer are believed to exist — the Hammer proved enough of a hit with the wealthy and with enthusiasts that Mercedes parent Daimler-Benz decided a more formal partnership was warranted, so in 1990, the two companies formed an alliance that would enable AMG vehicles to be sold straight out of Mercedes-Benz dealerships.

1998: The E55 Takes AMG Mainstream

AMG’s next work on the E-Class came around a decade after the Hammer drove off into the sunset. Since then, Mercedes-Benz had rolled out a new generation of E-Class, internally known as W210 and externally differentiated first and foremost by a rounded quad-headlamp arrangement. It debuted in 1994, and by 1996, AMG was already working its magic on it in limited numbers, rolling out small amounts of six-cylinder E36 and eight-cylinder E50 and E60 exclusively for the European market (although some found their way abroad, in particular to Japan).

It wouldn’t be until 1998, however, that AMG rolled out the car that would set the stage for the next step in their journey with Mercedes. The E55 AMG looked much more subtle than the Hammer — external changes were mostly at bumper level and below, and barely more aggressive than a lesser E’s looks — but the mechanical brief was very similar. It used a handmade V-8 based on a Mercedes block with displacement increased from 5.0 to 5.4 liters, and a sprinkle of Affalterbach magic to boost performance, combined with a five-speed automatic serving the rear wheels. The resulting combination spat out 349 hp and 391 lb-ft, enabling it to run roughly neck and neck with its iconic 300E 5.6 AMG forbear; Car and Driver recorded a 4.9 second 0-60 mph, and a quarter mile of 13.5 seconds at 105 mph, putting it neck-and-neck with a Porsche 911 Carrera of the day.

But unlike its W210 and W124 predecessors, Mercedes and AMG built the E55 in big numbers — at least, by comparison. More than 10,000 were built over the four-year production run, and unlike the less-numerous E36 / E50 / E60 models from before, it was sold in North America, helping AMG establish a foothold in the United States and Canadian markets that would help propel it to future success. (Also helping: at a starting price of just over $71,000, it was much cheaper than its predecessor.) Still, two variations that remained Europe-only would hint at the AMG E’s future: buyers on the continent could opt for a station wagon version, as well as an all-wheel-drive one.

2002: The E55 Powers up With a Supercharger

By the early 21st Century, the horsepower war had opened up on numerous fronts, and one of them was the top end of the German sedan market. As such, the second-generation E55 AMG came quickly after the arrival of the new W211 E-Class; the mainstream model was revealed in January 2002, revising the four-headlamp look of the W210 with more fluid, curving lines; the E55 debuted just eight months later, wearing a design that made its performance credentials slightly more obvious than the first car to bear its name.

The engine under the hood still displaced 5.4 liters, but it now came with a supercharged affixed on top. Thanks to the blower and other updates, E55 2.0 whipped up a mighty 469 horsepower and 516 lb-ft. It was still fed to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic (and could barbecue those back tires with the electronic nannies turned off), but the added power showed up when the light turned green; Car and Driver saw it vault from 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds, and knock out the quarter-mile in 12.5 at 116 mph.

And in a perk for Americans who wanted the joy of a speed machine but needed to haul an SUV’s worth of cargo around, the new E55 marked the first time Mercedes-Benz brought an AMG station wagon to the United States. Car and Driver even found that, in spite of the extra 250-plus pounds of weight, the E55 AMG wagon was a tick quicker from naught to 60 than the sedan — perhaps a benefit of the added weight being over the drive wheels.

2007: A Big Midlife Update Turns the E55 Into the E63

Little did the world know Affalterbach’s engine wizards weren’t satisfied with the supercharged 5.4-liter V-8, however. Daimler (now DaimlerChrysler) had taken a controlling stake in AMG in 1999 before gaining full ownership in 2005, opening up new worlds of possibility with the resources now available. As such, AMG had set about building their own V-8 — one that shared as little as possible with other Mercedes motors. The new unit was internally known as M156, and it would go down as one of the automotive industry’s great power plants. Instead of forced induction, it made its power the old-fashioned way: with displacement and revs.

The W211 E-Class’s mid-life facelift in 2006 was fairly ordinary for the regular range, but when the updated AMG version debuted the next year, it came packing this new 6.2-liter naturally aspirated monster beneath its hood, with a new seven-speed automatic sending power to the rear wheels. In honor of the new motor’s larger size, it also picked up a name: E63 AMG.

The new motor’s power figures were fairly close to that of the supercharged E55; at 507 horsepower and 465 lb-ft, it made 38 more ponies, but 51 fewer “torques.”

Car and Driver saw similar acceleration out of it, as well, with a 0-60 of 4.2 seconds and a quarter-mile of 12.6 at 115 mph. Instead of a forced-induction motor’s low-end slug of power, though, the new motor delivered it in a natural, rising rush of energy, with peak torque arriving at 5,200 rpm and peak power at 6,800 on the way to the 7,200 rpm redline. And, delightfully, the station wagon stuck around as well.

2009: A New E63 Brings Plenty of Changes, But Not All at Once

The W212-generation E-Class arrived in early 2009, debuting in January and reaching showrooms by March, wearing a more creased, angular interpretation of the three-box shape, four-light face that had come to define the sedan. The AMG model followed close behind, showing up for the first time in April and wearing, in turn, its own rapacious interpretation on the new looks, complete with a slightly wider stance and more pronounced fender flares.

Under the hood, things were relatively status quo. The 6.2-liter V-8 endured, along with the seven-speed automatic (although the gearbox traded its traditional torque converter for a new wet startup clutch, making it something between a regular slushbox and a dual-clutch system). Horsepower rose a dash to 518, but torque remained at 465 lb-ft.

But the 6.2-liter motor wouldn’t stick around long. In 2011, AMG binned the naturally aspirated motor and brought back forced induction, in the name of reducing emissions and improving fuel economy. At 5,461cc of displacement, the new twin-turbocharged motor was just 0.02 liters smaller than the ones used in the E55 from 1998 to 2006, but Mercedes stuck with the E63 name, to prevent anyone from thinking the car had taken a step back (and kicking off the divorce between AMG vehicle’s names and their engine sizes).

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The new motor made the same 518 hp as the old 6.2 and the same 516 lb-ft as the last E55’s supercharged eight-pot — unless buyers opted for the Performance Pack, an option that had simply sharpened the handling and raised the top speed on previous cars, but now also boosted the pony count to 549 hp and the torque to 590 lb-ft.

2013: A New Face and All-Wheel-Drive Grip Come for the E63

The year 2013 saw the W212 score a comprehensive mid-life facelift, most notably in the form of a literal facelift that replaced the four-eyed look with more conventional headlights that paid homage to the old layout with LED running lamps. The E63 followed suit with its own interpretation, adding larger air intakes on its front fascia and a dash of extra chrome to zhuzh things up.

The twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8 stuck around, but now it came in two forms: a base model with 550 hp and 531 lb-ft, and a new E63 S version that made 577 hp and 590 lb-ft. (Delightfully, the station wagon was only available with the latter powerplant.) The bigger news was that, while seven-speed quasi-dual-clutch-auto returned, it now sent the power to all four wheels instead of just the rear — the new car’s torque output, perhaps, having been determined to be just too much for two tires to handle.

Extra grip and added power, not surprisingly, added up to improved times off the line. Car and Driver’s test of an E 63 S wagon saw it vault from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 3.4 seconds and clobber the quarter in 11.7 at 122 mph, even in spite of a curb weight north of 4,700 pounds. The facelift W212 E63 was prescient: this format — all-wheel-drive, twin-turbo power — would go on to define the AMG’s cars over the next decade and beyond.

2016: The Final (for Now) E63 Debuts, Refining the Recipe

The spring of 2016 saw the arrival of the next-generation E-Class, known internally as the W213 generation and building upon the stylistic precedent set by the W212’s mid-life update, with more curved lines and muscular haunches. The new E63 that debuted in November — now formally known as the Mercedes-AMG E 63, thanks to a change in corporate structure that made AMG a sub-brand alongside Maybach instead of a trim level — built open that with an even bolder front fascia than ever, giving the sedan and wagon an intimidating face that wouldn’t look out of place on a full-bore sports car.

And for the third time in a decade, the V-8 under the AMG E-Class’s hood was swapped out. The new twin-turbocharged motor, known internally as M177, displaced just 4.0 liters — a displacement shared with the new V-8 making its way across the mainstream Mercedes-Benz lineup — but AMG’s magic meant power rose yet again. Standard E 63 models now made 563 horsepower and 553 lb-ft, while the new E 63 S made a thumping 603 hp and 627 lb-ft. (Wisely, Mercedes decided only to bring the more potent version to the United States in both sedan and wagon forms.) All that power once again was forwarded to all four wheels, but a new nine-speed gearbox offered an even greater variety of ratios.

As a result of all that work, the new E 63 S proved quicker than all its predecessors when the lights turned green. Car and Driver’s testing saw the new E 63 S sedan blast from naught to 60 in 3.0 seconds flat and through the quarter-mile in 11.1 second at 126 mph, smacking aside the likes of entry-level McLarens of the day.

For the first time in decades, the AMG E-Class line spanned more than one variant — although the new ones were a far cry from the rare E36 / E50 / E60 versions of the 1990s. In an effort to bring more buyers into the AMG family at a lower price point, Mercedes expanded the line to include at E 43 in fall 2016 with a twin-turbo V-6 making 396 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque, which was soon replaced by an E 53 in 2018 that used a 429-hp, 384-lb turbocharged-and-hybridized inline-six. (Many enthusiasts have insisted these models amount to the AMG equivalent of Bud Light, on account of the fact that their engines aren’t made by a single employee in Affalterbach the way the 63s are.)

And, apart from a gentle 2020 facelift that added one pony and three pound-feet and a revised front end with a new vertically strafed grille and smaller headlights, that’s where the story ends for now. While a new generation of E-Class called W214 arrived in 2023, it hasn’t yet spawned a true AMG version; a new E 53 joined the line in 2024, and while its plug-in hybrid powertrain makes an impressive 604 hp and 553 lb-ft, its turbo inline-six’s lack of one-man-one-engine origins effectively puts it in the AMG Lite category. The next chapter of the E 63’s story remains to be written — but we can’t wait to read it when it’s ready.