Listen To The Angry Growl Of The New Mercedes-AMG S63e

For as long as the S-Class has been ferrying plutocrats across the world's financial districts, Mercedes-Benz has provided a performance version for executives who prefer to arrive at business meetings in a cloud of their own tire smoke. It all started with the incredible 300SEL 6.3 and the tradition has continued ever since, with the automaker offering monied buyers the now-discontinued S65 AMG.

While the V12 will remain the reserve of the Maybach S680, that hasn't stopped power-crazed AMG from turning its attention to the latest iteration of the world's great sedan. Our talented photographers have previously caught a glimpse of the upcoming S63e and we recently spied its opulent interior. It seems Mercedes is putting the final touches on its bahnstormer, with a mostly undisguised example spied strutting its stuff at the Nurburgring.

As you'll hear in the video below, the upcoming S-Class AMG has been blessed with a glorious growl. That spine-tingling rumble comes from the twin-turbo V8 living under the large hood and will undoubtedly produce copious amounts of power. The "e" denotes an electric motor of some kind and if it's anything like the rapid GT 63 S E Performance, we expect the new S63e to produce a combined 831 horsepower.

Still, it's a big car and even Mercedes can't outwit the laws of physics - they come close though. In the video, you can see the two-tonne plus S-Class grip with tenacity as it attacks the challenging bends of the Nurburgring. It's no sports car, but it's very impressive. From a styling point of view, the brand's range-topper has been given a fairly demure AMG treatment, but we'll be able to make a better judgment once the camouflage is removed.

The most notable - and controversial - change in the S63e's design can be seen upfront. Gone is the traditional three-pointed star and elegant grille, replaced by a more performance-oriented Panamericana item. This may be in keeping with the athletic persona of the AMG model, but purists won't be happy about this. After all, the S-Class sedan has always worn the more traditional grille treatment.

Despite the expected performance outputs, Mercedes will introduce an even hotter S73 variant to take the place of the fallen S65. Reports indicate this rapid executive express will boast more than 800 horsepower, which would make it the most powerful production Sonderklasse ever to grace the road. Interestingly, it will also resurrect the little-known S73 badge, which was first used on pre-merger W140 AMG models.