Mercedes has long been known for its lineup of bulletproof and luxurious products. The marque made its name in the early days of the auto industry as a technology and performance pioneer and has remained at the forefront ever since. Keeping the “performance” side of that equation strong is the job of AMG, Mercedes’ in-house performance skunkworks.
Since its inception in 1967 as a builder of racing engines for Mercedes products, AMG has grown into a full-fledged division within the company. Engines are still AMG’s forte, and each AMG product starts with a hand-built, high-performance powerplant. AMG’s engines are thoroughly reworked in comparison to their standard counterparts, and backed up by transmissions that have been tweaked to handle the additional power as well as provide enthusiast-satisfying performance.
AMG also revamps the suspensions and braking systems of the cars it touches, turning Mercedes’ premium cars into full-fledged rocketships that stop and handle as well as they go. A unique and aggressive exhaust note helps to set these cars apart, and AMG adds subtle styling tweaks and lightweight wheels of its own design as well.
Obviously, the most powerful cars in Mercedes’ lineup wear the AMG badge. Some are among the most powerful cars in the industry: the 630-horsepower S 65 AMG and 622-horse SLS AMG Black Series are good examples. The fully electric SLS AMG Electric Drive Coupe puts out 722 horsepower.
AMG’s current lineup touches just about every member of the Mercedes family. In the U.S., that includes the C63 AMG, CLA 45 AMG, E63 AMG, S63 and S65 AMG, CLS63 AMG, CL63 and CL65 AMG, SL63 and SL65 AMG, SLK55 AMG, SLS AMG, ML63 AMG, GL63 AMG and G63 AMG. The C- and E-Class ranges include both coupe and sedan versions, and there’s even an E63 AMG wagon with standard 4MATIC all-wheel drive.
