[Nikhilb2008]

Hello Everyone, welcome to my new ownership thread.

This is one that has been in my mind for a very long time but due to my work schedule, I simple didn’t get time to sit down and write down everything.

Let’s get to the point quickly and then I can narrate my long story which may or may not interest people.

Headline:

I bought a full blooded old school AMG!


Pre Facelift 2011 W212 E63 AMG



Subtitle:

That’s a sentence I never thought I would say this early in my life.

This comes with what I consider to be AMG's masterpiece, the M156 engine -- the 6.2 litre Naturally Aspirated V8 engine.



Instant throttle response, a proper V8 soundtrack

This is mated to what Mercedes calls an MCT or Multi Clutch transmission. I dont know much more about this.

This car comes with an old school Hydraulic Power Steering that gives me goosebumps when I turn it at high speeds.

Classic German Mercedes build quality.

Black leather AMG seats

18" solid 5 spoke wheels (currently painted in a bronze shade)

The ability to cruise around the city and the highways just like a normal E Class with zero drama and fuss.

A perfect sleeper.


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Numbers:

This a Pre Facelift W212 E63 AMG with the full 6.2 litre Naturally Aspirated V8 engine putting out 525 bhp and some 600 NM of torque.

I am the third owner.

There are only 2 pieces of this in India. This white one and another Maroon one.

The old pics of the same car were on TBHP -- https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...ml#post2938422 (PICS : Mercedes W212 E63 AMG)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...e63-amg-2.html (PICS : Mercedes W212 E63 AMG)

The Maroon car is now owned by a person in Bombay who cares for it deeply. He’s now upgraded to the 19” wheels.

The white one is now my car. I remember seeing these posts on TBHP 10 years back and I can scarcely believe my luck that I own this car now.

Price:

I paid Rs XX lakhs for it. I am happy with the price I paid, the seller is happy with the price he got. Everyone’s happy and since there are just 2 cars in India, there’s no real market for this and no market value. So, no point in revealing numbers and encouraging random people to say that we overpaid or underpaid or whatever.

Driving Experience:

The driving experience is unlike anything I’ve driven. On the race track and on the road, it is just MEGA.

It makes my heart sing(after it has stopped racing). It makes my heart beat faster when I push it but at other times, it actually is relaxing to drive.

A proper Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality.

A bruiser when you want it to show it’s muscles, the rest of the time, hidden behind a plain but elegant suit.

On a recent trip to Coimbatore and back, I kept the car in Sports mode throughout the drive and by the end of the drive, my entire body was buzzing. The excitement this car can generate is something I have never felt over a long period of time.

When I floor the throttle, in S mode, the car downshifts quite quickly and aggressively and just flies. And when I brake, it downshifts automatically causing lovely growling noises to come out of the exhaust. This is something I thoroughly enjoyed and kept doing more of on the drive.

Even in the city, if I find a small stretch of an open road, I put the car in S mode and floor the throttle. The car growls and just hurtles forward. It hits the speed limit in just a few short seconds and then I slam on the brakes and then the downshifts happen, creating more excitement. Instantly puts a smile on my face.

When in the comfort mode, the car feels slow and lethargic. Especially in the city. S mode instantly makes everything feel more aggressive. Even the throttle response is very poor in Comfort mode but it’s fine because it is a comfort mode.

The hydraulic power steering makes me realise what I truly love about driving. The car feels like it is in my control and whenever I turn, the sensations are just pleasurable. The steering is heavy for sure at slow speeds and in the city but on the highway, it feels absolutely amazing.

The brakes are good but they are less sharp than what I’m used to in my Octavia vRS. The brakes are really good, as they have to be. However, I still need to get used to using them smoothly. Many times I find myself too close to the car in front and at other times I find I am stopping the car very suddenly with a jerk.

It’s aged beautifully and while I still love the Facelifted W212 design more, I am developing a proper appreciation for the pre facelift W212.

The other details will follow soon, for now just enjoy the pictures.

Once again, I still cant believe I own this car. If any of you see me, please pinch me. Or maybe, don’t. If it is a dream, I would rather live the dream.

I purchased it from the 2nd owner who parted with it with a heavy heart. He has maintained it beautifully for the 2 years he owned it. When he purchased it, he spent a lot of time and money replacing a lot of parts and getting it looking like new.

I purchased this car on June 13th 2022 and as of today, it has done exactly 10,000 kms from the date I picked it up.

I’ve driven this car from KL to BLR and then multiple drives around Bangalore. I also took it on two trips to Hyderabad, one trip to Maharashtra (BLR-Pune-Nashik-Aurangabad-Pune-BLR), a couple of trips to Coimbatore, a trip to Chennai and a Coast to Coast trip which started with a trackday at MMRT. That trip deserves a post of it’s own. BLR-MMRT-Pondicherry-Kochi-BLR.

I can use this car daily but the fuel economy in the city is abysmal. I get 3-4 kmpl. On the highways, I get 8-9kmpl if I drive fast and smoothly and if I keep it in S mode and drive aggressively, I get about 6-7kmpl. I am extremely happy with the fuel economy on the highways. I’m enjoying the car and spending some extra money on the fuel is justified.

I don’t enjoy the car and it’s features as much in the city, so the 3-4 kmpl hurts me and pinches me which is why I don’t drive it much in the city.

As of now, the car is an OEM+ tune. It was tuned by the second owner to a map that came as standard on some variants from the factory in Europe.

Apart from that, the car is stock. I’m even using the original wheels which had been repainted by the second owner as the original colours were quite badly scratched.

The car was immaculately maintained by the second owner as he owned a car wash and detailing centre. I got my PPF’ed by The Glossfactor in Bangalore which is run by a TBHPian, Prashant Sajiv.

I used the Pirellis that were on the car and recently changed to Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

I also added an Apple Carplay/Android Auto kit to the Head unit. This is completely hidden and I retained the stock look of my car. But when I get into my car, I have wireless carplay ready to use.

I also got a full service done at Marque One Garage on Hosur Road. Also got them to source a few parts and get them replaced like the brake pads, the underbody fabric cover and a few other things.

I will keep posting more including detailed posts about the upgrades I’ve done to the car.

Enjoy the pics below.

As of now, I can just say that this car reminds me why I like cars. It is not about the speed, the 0-100 times, quarter mile times, lap times, not even about the power and torque figures.

All of these are important but they are all just stepping stones to the final result – Pure, unbridled ecstasy and joy while driving. The feeling of excitement, heart racing, mind in a happy place of it’s own.

My friend made an Instagram video for me when I took delivery of the car. There is a clip of the exhaust note in that video here --

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dNmpbnxqNIo?feature=share

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[avira_tk]

Congrats on owning a really desirable rare specimen. There is no such thing as overpaying here, you either get it or someone else will. This is the perfect highway bruiser, the economy is great for the displacement and because its NA, should be reliable.

The bronze alloys are not my thing, but I guess Porsche has made them fashionable now.

[niranjanrvce]

Hearty congratulations Nikhil! Have been following your posts on this car on social media for a while now and this is one of those cars that grows on your heart the longer you look at it. And a true blue enthusiast car in the hands of a true blue enthusiast
Lots more videos of that lovely exhaust please!

[krishnaprasadgg]

Congrats Nikhil,
Lovely lovely Car and an even more Epic and Angry engine at that!
Wishing you many many more happy miles with the car and hopefully we get to see regular updates on this thread as well.

Cheers
Krishna

[DicKy]

Voah, have been eyeing the few numbers of pre-FL W212 6.3 AMG and pre-FL W204 6.3 AMG imported by the company (not a fan of the looks of the facelifted ones sold officially by the company) and filing them away in my imaginary dream garage bucket list , and voila. A BHPian has already bought it.

The FE is actually decent for what is a 6200cc petrol engine tuned for performance, also looking at how you seem to enjoy it, the FE is nothing.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

There are only 2 pieces of this in India. This white one and another Maroon one.

It’s aged beautifully and while I still love the Facelifted W212 design more, I am developing a proper appreciation for the pre facelift W212.

Don't worry. I am sure you will appreciate the pre-FL W212 even more. The facelifted W212 has started to become more like the new organic design language of Merc, while the pre-FL has that sharp traditional Benz look.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Holy Crap! What a way to start my day to see this beauty! I have tons of questions but most importantly such high performance engines, are they ok with our fuel quality here or the usual XPS 95 or 100 or even more is fine??
The bronze/copper on the alloys goes really well with the car. How's the ground clearance like? Won't be an air suspension I believe. Silly question but did this generation engines come with that cylinder deactivation feature?

[josephilip]

Congratulations on getting a hold of this beast. This is a car almost every single person reading this thread would like to own one day. I've heard the growl of amg V8s a couple of times in Kochi and it is something else.
I remember me and my brother standing at a footpath stupefied after seeing a 204 c63 amg. There is nothing I wouldn't give to see this E63 on the road and take a couple of pictures. These W212 pre facelifts with that mercedes ornament on the hood has such a classic look. It never gets old and always has an elegance to it. Sadly I miss that elegance in the new E classes.
Congratulations again. Enjoy the car to it's maximum.

[Tvk1991]

Congratulations on your perfect family NA V8 Sedan.

It has all the old school Benz characters like the Hood Symbol and the classic grill.
Perfect sleeper car to troll people if you are going to have an E200 or an E220 CDI emblem on your rear

It's a very hard to replace car in the future.

[Dippy]

Nikhil!!!

That car is a legend and will only appreciate as the years go by. Nothing comes close to that naturally aspirated 6.2 litre V8. I have driven that engine in the W204 C63 and the SLS AMG.

A true sleeper car this and will give super cars a run for their money too. Sadly we are now at 4.0 litre V8s and next gen cars are look at 2.0 litre engines with plug in tech.

I love how you use your car like a daily and on your road trips. That's how they are meant to be used and not remain garage queens.

Wish you many happy miles, and don't ever ever sell it. This one is a keeper for life.

[audioholic]

Finally this story has been penned down, or rather published I think after getting this one home the grin on your face will be permanent no matter what you do with the car. I absolutely love the growl of this engine and the sort of power it puts onto the road. This is a car you can keep forever. Congrats again Nikhil!

[ImmortalZ]

Ah, finally, the car is out of the bag. The way that engine note hammers your chest, even when you slightly blip it at idle - it's a feeling I'll never forget.

[GTO]

Such an incredibly fast, timeless machine that will age well. Big congrats, Nikhil! It's quite the buy. Am sure the power delivery & soundtrack of the big NA motor is just so addictive. Hope the maintenance costs & reliability have been acceptable.

This generation of the E-Class looks fabulous even today. And yours - with the golden wheels & quad exhaust - a lot more so. The ultimate sleeper, indeed.

P.S. My compliments to your stylish Dad, he looks like a stud .

[Guru_Shikhar]

Many congratulations Nikhil on your dream purchase.

The car is absolute beauty with a mammoth engine under the hood. How awesome it sounds man…

Now it’s your duty to keep this thread updated since you have one of the rarest cars in your possession.

Also share your experience of the road trips you had taken with this machine.

Have excellent times with this German beauty.

Cheers.

[VwRabbit]

Congrats on getting a chance to own such an exotic machine…truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing and with many fake AMG’s going around with badges and body kits it was new for me to know that there is actually only two in India from that era of e63’s.
The gem is under the hood ‘6.2 litre V8’,a dying breed in this era and soon going to be extinct because of modern downsizing trends ,bigger turbos ,stringent emission norms and the move towards electrification ,maybe a modern 4 cylinder will be capable of putting more horsepower than this in today’s world but as the saying goes ‘there is no replacement for displacement’.Enjoy!