MOTORING
It’s nuts, it’s outrageous and downright irresponsible. But Tees Life
motor man Graham Courtney loved the Mercedes AMG G63…
MONSTER
MOTOR
The 4.0 litre 577bhp V8 bi-turbo engine
of the Mercedes G63 can achieve
0-60mph in 4.5 seconds.
It's as streamlined as a
house brick but boasts
real presence.
T
he Mercedes G63 is one of those
unlikely automotive success stories.
It’s about as streamlined as a house
brick; it drinks fuel at a prodigious rate and
it takes up more space than a skip, so why
on Earth are people queueing-up to shell
out £143,305 for a car which started life as a
military vehicle?
Let’s start with the obvious. Nothing else
looks like it. If you like a vehicle which has
immense presence, look no further.
Just absorb the dimensions… 4.6 metres
(15ft) in length; 1.9 metres high (6ft 3in) and
you’ll need a gap that’s 2.1 metres (6ft 10in)
wide to get through, unless you fold in the
wing mirrors. It tips the scales at 2.5 tonnes.
Add all of those figures together and you
can see why your average fuel consumption
is unlikely to get much further than the
lowest 20s – if you’re lucky.
Another reason why the AMG G63 is a tad
thirsty, is the 4.0 litre 577bhp V8 bi-turbo
engine. 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. Top speed
137mph. These are mightily impressive
figures.
At this point you may be thinking that
with all of that power and the actual size
of the vehicle, that the G63 may be rather
unwieldy, a bit of a handful. Oh, how wrong
you are.
Granted, it’s big, but because of the square
dimensions it’s a doddle to place on the road.
Another delight is the sound which
burbles and crackles from the exhausts.
Make full use of the nine-speed auto ‘box
and you can either generate a low grumble or
go the whole hog and unleash the banshees.
The ride is uncannily smooth and well
Work of art - the interior
of the Mercedes G63.
controlled. Okay, it will also tackle seriously
rough terrain, but the thought of running
some bramble bushes down the side will deter
most owners.
I shan’t list all of the equipment you
get included as standard. This is an AMG
Mercedes; you get everything. The interior is a
work of art and is extremely comfortable.
Okay, this is a car that will make
environmentalists wince. But, if you want a
luxurious car that really will cross a jungle,
ford a river, tow a horse box, reverse a boat
into a lake or burble up to the front of your
favourite restaurant in style, then the AMG
G63 certainly fits the bill.
tees-life.co.uk
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