Back Story: Although all Mercedes S Class vehicles were designed in tandem, the AMG line has discerning features, like a hand-built engine. “It has tremendous power that can be safely controlled, the result of its high-revving concept and engine capacity,” says Volker Mornhinweg, CEO of Mercedes-AMG.

Safety is not sexy. Daring. Risk-taking. Swashbuckling bravado. Corporate leaders with plans for worldwide domination. Those are sexy. But astute leaders know that speed, as they say, kills, while safety — well, let’s just say safety presumably survives.

Thus the allure of the new 518-hp Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG. Not only is it one of the world’s feistiest and fattest fat-cat sedans, it also boasts more safety systems than Air Force One on a Tora Bora fly- by. It therefore makes a natural conveyance for the corporate titan who wants to live a little out on the roads — and still, you know, actually live.

There are currently four versions of the Mercedes S Class, starting with the V8-powered S550 and topping out at the twin-turbo V12 S65 AMG. Of those, the S63 AMG is by far the sportiest V8. While it doesn’t wield the ferocity of the 604-hp S65, its 6.2-liter power pack produces its juice without the aid of turbos — and thus doesn’t suffer from the inelegance of the dreaded turbo lag. Indeed, when we took the S63 out for a recent test ride, we were thrilled to find that it delivered on the promise of its 0–60 time of 4.5 seconds. We were also slightly disappointed to be reminded that, as with all Benzes, its top speed is electronically limited to a mere, ahem, 155 mph.

Such power is either impetus for your company to take out another key-person insurance policy on you — or the justification for myriad safety features. The S63 boasts the latter. In addition to the usual complement of air bags, antilock brakes and stability control, it offers the Mercedes Pre-Safe system — a robo-future feature that senses impending impacts and automatically tightens the seatbelts, closes the sunroof and moves the seats to a safer position. Likewise, the Distronic Cruise Control acts like a nattering backseat driver, using a radar unit mounted behind the grille to maintain a preset distance between the Benz and the car in front. There’s even a shockingly effective night-vision system that displays an eerie black-and-white image of the road ahead.

Not all of the S63’s features are designed solely to keep you from becoming a six-line obit in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal. The car also boasts two sunroofs, a driver’s-seat massager and low-profile Pirelli P-Zeros mounted on a set of gorgeous 20-inch wheels. The sport seats automatically stiffen their side bolsters during cornering. And perhaps best of all for a bigwig such as you, it boasts a mechanism that automatically pulls the doors closed — just in case you don’t have someone on retainer who does that for you. CL
mbusa.com

Executive Summary: Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG
Cost $127,775 (base price)
Engine DOHC 32-valve V8, 518 hp
at 6,800 rpm, 465 lb-ft. at 5,200 rpm
Chassis Steel unibody with four-wheel
front suspension and multilink independent rear suspension Transmission Seven-speed automatic
0–60 4.5 seconds
Top Speed 155 mph
Fuel Economy 17 mpg (highway)
Acceleration 4 stars
Handling 4 stars
Value 4 stars
Braking 5 stars
Interior 5 stars

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