Under the hood resides almost the same 6.3-litre V8 seen in the smaller C63, but increasingly fettled and massaged to produce 525 big Teutonic horses (compared to 457bhp).

Starting up there’s a short, violent bark which settles to a surprisingly quiet idle, is eyebrow raising. It’s a very tractable engine: 630Nm of torque is produced at a high 5,200rpm, but below peak there’s still plenty of shove to be enjoyed.

Provoke the accelerator and the engine shows its true colours: a kick in the back and a glorious cacophonic warble, things which once sat on the horizon now pass by. In short, all that’s expected from something with an AMG badge.

AMG chose a seven-speed automatic gearbox (having actual planetary gears) without a torque converter, instead having a wet clutch, called ‘AMG Speedshift MCT’, the idea being it serves faster shifts. Racking up or down the cogs is a joy, even better with the aggressively blipped downshifts. However it’d probably fit better in the more sporting C 63 (which has a regular 7G-Tronic) than on the all-rounded E 63 as it can be tricky to work at low speeds. Shift patterns include comfort, sport, sport plus and manual. There’s also ‘RS’ for ‘race start’ i.e. launch control.

But the true impressiveness of the E 63 lies in its flexiblility: the ride and refinement is still top-notch (you are in an E-Class after all) without sacrificing handling ability – thanks to steel springs in the front and air shocks at the rear (both are active units), with a two-step adjustment in the form of AMG Ride Control.

And that ability is both broad as well as deep. Guiding the car through the circuitous route up and down the Cameron Highlands in wet weather, it entered corners with resolve and composure, not a wheel out of place. Sure it’s no track-day scalpel, but it’s not supposed to be, and can still provide the enterprising wheelman with a lot of entertainment.

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