Is there any horsepower limit when it comes to super saloons? Mercedes-AMG certainly thinks not.

How else are you going to justify having more than 600hp under the bonnet of an E-Class, except from the fact that you want power, lots and lots of power.

The AMG versions of the Mercedes E-Class were always considered as classy hooligans that liked to light their rears on fire every time you touched the loud pedal but this time the boys at Affalterbach decided to do things a bit different.

Not everyone likes the challenge of a big, really powerful, rear-driven four-door saloon on a daily basis, especially if you live on an area where temperatures like to drop and snow shows up more than you would like. That’s why AMG opted for an all-wheel drive system this time, securing the desired all-weather capability.

But because this is AMG we’re talking about, they wouldn’t leave the merits of having an all-wheel drive system unexploited so they’ve dropped -in the case of the S model – a 603hp, twin-turbo 4.0-litre fire-breathing V8 paired to a nine-speed automatic gearbox.

The results are astonishing: 0-62mph takes just 3.5 seconds and, provided you ticked the right box in the options list, a top speed of 186mph (300km/h). And don’t worry; you’ll still be able to destroy your rear tires at will, thanks to the rather self-explanatory Drift mode which disengages the front axle completely.

Chris Chilton reviews AMG’s latest super saloon in the latest DriveTribe video.

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