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Written by Rowan Horncastle
Earlier this week, we got behind the wheel of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. "An awesomely, almost intimidatingly complete car," we concluded. Now AMG has entered the fray and added its own take on the new E-Class. It"s called the E43".It"s only a semi-skimmed AMG variant, mind the full-fat E63 is yet to come. Which means instead of an outrageously powered twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet, the 43 employs a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 (not, as the name might suggest, a 4.3-litre).In AMG terms, the power hike is quite subtle. The six-pot makes 401bhp, 34bhp more than the E400. But, thanks to those new, bigger turbos, a hefty 384lb ft of torque is available from just 2500rpm. That power and torque is split between all four wheels (admittedly a front-to-rear ratio of 31:69) and sent through Merc"s nine-speed auto box to see 0-62mph off in 4.6 seconds. As ever, top speed is limited to 155mph.If you"re still shocked to be reading AMG" and six-cylinder" in the same sentence, get used to it as there"ll be more on the way. It"s not the first the C32 of 2002 employed a supercharged 3.2-litre V6 and the new SLC 43 was the first modern fast Merc to slot this engine in an AMG product. Even so, it"s quite the departure from a firm traditionally wedded to V8s.It"s all in the name of efficiency. And the E43 does that well: the headline stats are 189g/km of CO2 and 34mpg.
Date written: 10 Mar 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 2514
Earlier this week, we got behind the wheel of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. "An awesomely, almost intimidatingly complete car," we concluded. Now AMG has entered the fray and added its own take on the new E-Class. It"s called the E43".It"s only a semi-skimmed AMG variant, mind the full-fat E63 is yet to come. Which means instead of an outrageously powered twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet, the 43 employs a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 (not, as the name might suggest, a 4.3-litre).In AMG terms, the power hike is quite subtle. The six-pot makes 401bhp, 34bhp more than the E400. But, thanks to those new, bigger turbos, a hefty 384lb ft of torque is available from just 2500rpm. That power and torque is split between all four wheels (admittedly a front-to-rear ratio of 31:69) and sent through Merc"s nine-speed auto box to see 0-62mph off in 4.6 seconds. As ever, top speed is limited to 155mph.If you"re still shocked to be reading AMG" and six-cylinder" in the same sentence, get used to it as there"ll be more on the way. It"s not the first the C32 of 2002 employed a supercharged 3.2-litre V6 and the new SLC 43 was the first modern fast Merc to slot this engine in an AMG product. Even so, it"s quite the departure from a firm traditionally wedded to V8s.It"s all in the name of efficiency. And the E43 does that well: the headline stats are 189g/km of CO2 and 34mpg.
Date written: 10 Mar 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 2514