2024 Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Is a Coupe on V8 Steroids
4 min
The coming model year brings an updated machine into the Mercedes-Benz AMG garage: a large, powerful coupe launched by a wonderfully inappropriate V8 engine.
The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S is a type of vehicle that didn’t exist for previous destinations. Bigger than some lesser SUV models at 195-inches long and weighing more than 2.5 tons, the AMG GLE 63 S rides higher than most Mercedes-Benz models. It lives under the coupe label despite its four-door frame, preserving the moniker with a hard top roof and sloping rear lines. Still, as the 63 S muscles its way along from its almost 118-inch wheelbase to its broad haunches, its visual impact says “coupe, but on AMG steroids.”
If there’s a challenge to overcome in getting comfortable with the GLE 63 S Coupe, it’s those visuals. With so many modern vehicles on the road taking the form of SUVs or crossovers that are really no more than large hatchbacks, the sight of a vehicle that’s none of the above while also shrugging off the modest lines of a sedan takes some getting used to from the outside. Still, once the driver makes that adjustment, he or she can get on with the enjoyment of driving an AMG-tuned Mercedes barely tamed brute.
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For the uninitiated, AMG is the Mercedes-Benz tuning shop where already great cars become more aggressive. AMG amps the power and handling abilities, adds more than a few more bucks, quid, or euros to the price tag and hands them along to serious driving enthusiasts.
For the GLE 63 S, the shop penned in a handcrafted 4-liter V8 Biturbo beast under the hood—but at least nodded to environmental concerns by layering electric hybrid assist. The result of all that uncompromising German engineering is 603 horsepower and a 0-to-60 time of 3.8 seconds. That’s serious, “snap your head back” speed in a large, solidly built vehicle.
A combination of AMG Speedshift TCT 9-speed automatic transmission with sport paddle shifting and all-wheel drive with fully variable torque distribution keep all of that power on the road. The end result driving experience features a grounded, balanced, and stately ride that elevates the owner above the ugliness of common pavement—with truly aggressive, roaring power waiting if you put your toe down in Sport or Sport+ mode.
Michael Knoeller, head of marketing and sales at Mercedes-AMG, says a lot of planning and thought go into how the company maintains two identities: an automaker providing traditional, tuned power and performance for enthusiasts, while also forging technology for electric vehicles.
“Mercedes-AMG is in the transformation phase in the mid- and long-term,” Knoeller says. “While our handcrafted V8 powertrains will continue to be offered in familiar models for some time, we are also working on AMG’s own BEV platform, AMG.EA. This will enable us to meet a wide range of customer needs in markets where the V8 engine continues to play a role, as well as with our all-electric EQ models.”
And regardless of the drivetrain technology, a Mercedes has to be a Mercedes, Knoeller adds. There are high expectations for buyers of make and its models, whether or not they’re AMG-forged vehicles.
“All Mercedes-AMG models must deliver on our brand promise of superior performance and unique technology,” he says. “In doing so, we can adopt certain technologies from the world of combustion engines, while other technologies we develop completely from scratch.”
As for what purpose the 2024 AMG GLE 63 S Coupe plays in this grand scheme of old meets new and power meets preservation, the answer is a mixed grill. The monster-sized coupe is large enough to serve as a luxury people carrier, but powerful enough for the occasional track day before standing in as a grand tourer with ample power.
“We think the GLE 63 S Coupe excels in a variety of areas,” Knoeller explains. “It perfectly meets the demand for luxury and comfort, while also offering ample space.”
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He points to the distinctive, though challenging appearance as a plus that brings interested eyeballs to the vehicle, while the 603-horespower output looks to thrill the human behind the wheel. The Sport + dynamic driving setting is intended for track days and maximum driving entertainment, he says (even if there are more suitable products in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio for track days, such as the SL Roadster).
In terms of the future, Knoeller reassures passionate drivers that high performance models such as the GLE 63 S Coupe and its ilk will have a place in the Mercedes AMG family for a while yet.
“The segment of sporty SUVs and the demand for our models has grown steadily in recent years,” he says. “We also see further potential here in the long term, so there is no need to worry about the future of the GLE 63 S Coupe. We have already set the course for an electric future and recently presented our new Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV.”
The starting MSRP for the rides making up the GLE class start around US$80,000, with the AMG enhancements on the GLE 63 S Coupe nudging the price up to US$125,000 and beyond. If the lover of German meticulousness can get used to the edgy and nontraditional styling cues, he or she will buy into a unique blend of stately performance with deceptive and effective power.
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The lunar flyby would be the deepest humans have traveled in space in decades.
4 min
It’s go time for the highest-stakes mission at NASA in more than 50 years.
On April 1, the agency is set to launch four astronauts around the moon, the deepest human spaceflight since the final Apollo lunar landing in 1972.
The launch window for Artemis II , as the mission is called, opens at 6:24 p.m. ET.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration teams have been preparing the vehicles to depart from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on the planned roughly 10-day trip. Crew members have trained for years for this moment.
Reid Wiseman, the NASA astronaut serving as mission commander, said he doesn’t fear taking the voyage. A widower, he does worry at times about what he is putting his daughters through.
“I could have a very comfortable life for them,” Wiseman said in an interview last September.
“But I’m also a human, and I see the spirit in their eyes that is burning in my soul too. And so we’ve just got to never stop going.”
Wiseman’s crewmates on Artemis II are NASA’s Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
What are the goals for Artemis II?
The biggest one: Safely fly the crew on vehicles that have never carried astronauts before.
The towering Space Launch System rocket has the job of lofting a vehicle called Orion into space and on its way to the moon.
Orion is designed to carry the crew around the moon and back. Myriad systems on the ship—life support, communications, navigation—will be tested with the astronauts on board.
SLS and Orion don’t have much flight experience. The vehicles last flew in 2022, when the agency completed its uncrewed Artemis I mission .
How is the mission expected to unfold?
Artemis II will begin when SLS takes off from a launchpad in Florida with Orion stacked on top of it.
The so-called upper stage of SLS will later separate from the main part of the rocket with Orion attached, and use its engine to set up the latter vehicle for a push to the moon.
After Orion separates from the upper stage, it will conduct what is called a translunar injection—the engine firing that commits Orion to soaring out to the moon. It will fly to the moon over the course of a few days and travel around its far side.
Orion will face a tough return home after speeding through space. As it hits Earth’s atmosphere, Orion will be flying at 25,000 miles an hour and face temperatures of 5,000 degrees as it slows down. The capsule is designed to land under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean, not far from San Diego.
Is it possible Artemis II will be delayed?
Yes.
For safety reasons, the agency won’t launch if certain tough weather conditions roll through the Cape Canaveral, Fla., area. Delays caused by technical problems are possible, too. NASA has other dates identified for the mission if it doesn’t begin April 1.
Who are the astronauts flying on Artemis II?
The crew will be led by Wiseman, a retired Navy pilot who completed military deployments before joining NASA’s astronaut corps. He traveled to the International Space Station in 2014.
Two other astronauts will represent NASA during the mission: Glover, an experienced Navy pilot, and Koch, who began her career as an electrical engineer for the agency and once spent a year at a research station in the South Pole. Both have traveled to the space station before.
Hansen is a military pilot who joined Canada’s astronaut corps in 2009. He will be making his first trip to space.
Koch’s participation in Artemis II will mark the first time a woman has flown beyond orbits near Earth. Glover and Hansen will be the first African-American and non-American astronauts, respectively, to do the same.
What will the astronauts do during the flight?
The astronauts will evaluate how Orion flies, practice emergency procedures and capture images of the far side of the moon for scientific and exploration purposes (they may become the first humans to see parts of the far side of the lunar surface). Health-tracking projects of the astronauts are designed to inform future missions.
Those efforts will play out in Orion’s crew module, which has about two minivans worth of living area.
On board, the astronauts will spend about 30 minutes a day exercising, using a device that allows them to do dead lifts, rowing and more. Sleep will come in eight-hour stretches in hammocks.
There is a custom-made warmer for meals, with beef brisket and veggie quiche on the menu.
Each astronaut is permitted two flavored beverages a day, including coffee. The crew will hold one hourlong shared meal each day.
The Universal Waste Management System—that’s the toilet—uses air flow to pull fluid and solid waste away into containers.
What happens after Artemis II?
Assuming it goes well, NASA will march on to Artemis III, scheduled for next year. During that operation, NASA plans to launch Orion with crew members on board and have the ship practice docking with lunar-lander vehicles that Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been developing. The rendezvous operations will occur relatively close to Earth.
NASA hopes that its contractors and the agency itself are ready to attempt one or more lunar landing missions in 2028. Many current and former spaceflight officials are skeptical that timeline is feasible.
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