莲花直播

The Mercedes-AMG S63 E-Performance is a plug-in hybrid, and if that makes it sound like some saintly Toyota Prius alternative, well鈥� The reality is that this big, traditional, luxury limo mixes V8 and electric power for a total of 791hp. Saintly? It鈥檚 as if Mary Berry suddenly decided to become a Hells Angel.

The big Merc鈥檚 just not all that thrilling to look at. With that incredible power output and all that high-tech, you鈥檇 think that the bodywork might shout about it a little more. Instead, the AMG S63 E-Performance looks very restrained, and is basically the same as any common-or-garden diesel S-Class.

You do get AMG鈥檚 鈥楶anamericana鈥� grille and deeper bumpers, together with some shiny alloy wheels, but if you want to shout about your wealth and performance, this is not the car for you. On second thoughts, maybe that鈥檚 a good thing鈥�

The S63鈥檚 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 engine makes 604hp all by itself, and you鈥檇 kind of think that would be enough. However, AMG鈥檚 engineers looked at it and simply said: 鈥淢ore.鈥�

To amplify the V8鈥檚 performance, the S63 gets a 187hp e-motor and a 13kWh battery which you can plug into the mains to charge up. In theory, that gives you a handy city-friendly electric range of around 20 miles (although 15 is probably closer to the truth), which means you can slip through ULEZ zones nice and easily.

However, the electric motor isn鈥檛 really there to make the S63 more economical, it鈥檚 there to ramp up the performance and it does just that, taking the big Merc to within sight of 800hp, and giving it a 0-62mph time of just 3.3 seconds. Ask nicely, and AMG will even take the speed limiter off the car, giving it a top speed of 180mph (assuming you know someone with an Autobahn in their back garden).

To corral all of that power, there鈥檚 4MATIC four-wheel drive and active engine mounts to prevent the big V8鈥檚 weight from upsetting things mid-corner. There鈥檚 also rear-wheel steering, adaptive air suspension and even an active anti-roll system. All of that adds up to 2.5 tonnes 鈥� and yet this heavy bird still flies鈥�

When you want to change how the S63 drives, you just twiddle the AMG drive control switch on the steering wheel and choose from Electric, Comfort, Battery Hold, Sport, Sport+, Slippery and Individual driving modes.

Inside, you get big screens (the iPad lookalike on the dash is 12.8 inches across, and easy to use) and the sort of luxury you鈥檇 expect from an S-Class. There鈥檚 quilted leather seats with pillow-soft headrests, a choice of open-pore wood trim, or wood that鈥檚 been inlaid with strips of aluminium to make it look like the Panamericana grille. There are more screens in the rear, and acres of legroom too, plus a fabulous Burmester sound system.

But if you really must have the most powerful saloon car in the world, see how much you could save with 莲花直播鈥檚 Mercedes deals, or browse used Mercedes from our network of trusted dealers. You can sell your current car with 莲花直播, too.

Well, it鈥檚 an S-Class Mercedes with AMG performance and a plug-in hybrid system. So by most counts it鈥檚 just shatteringly expensive. You could buy a 571hp V8-engined Audi S8 supersaloon and have enough change left over for an Audi RS3 for the shopping runs. Or you could buy a plug-in hybrid BMW M5 and still have enough left for a nice 1 Series hatch. Even the hybrid-powered BMW M760e limo is less pricey than the S-Class, and while it has less power than the Merc, it鈥檚 no less imposing to look at. There鈥檚 also the option of a Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which matches the Mercedes for power and price, even if it鈥檚 cramped in the back compared to the AMG.