AMG GLE 63 & GLS 63 V8 Breakdown — Full Transcript & Summary

[00:00] This is the new AMG GLE 63. And this is

[00:03] the new GLS 63. Forget electric motors

[00:06] and giant batteries. These new SUVs both

[00:09] come with massive twin turbo V8s. And

[00:11] there's more, because these new engines

[00:13] get the sort of tech you normally see in

[00:15] track-focused supercars. And there are

[00:17] plenty of other exciting upgrades as

[00:19] well. It looks like AMG has finally got

[00:22] its mojo back. But before we get into

[00:24] the engines, we need to talk about the

[00:25] design. Starting with this GLE 63. Just

[00:30] look at the front end. The old car

[00:32] wasn't exactly subtle, but this one has

[00:34] dialed the aggression all the way up.

[00:36] The new grill is bigger, bolder, and has

[00:38] a silver ring around the edge, which

[00:40] makes the car look like it's getting a

[00:42] dental exam. And check out what it looks

[00:44] like at [music] night. Yeah, the whole

[00:46] thing lights up like an influencer's

[00:48] ring light. And speaking of lights, just

[00:50] look at what the designers have done to

[00:52] the headlamps. Instead of a relatively

[00:54] subtle nod to the iconic Mercedes logo,

[00:56] like on the AMG GT 4-door, you get four

[00:59] massive stars across the front.

[01:01] >> [music]

[01:01] >> They remind me of novelty sunglasses,

[01:03] which probably isn't the high-end image

[01:05] Mercedes was going for. And it's the

[01:07] same story on the GLS. Although on that

[01:09] car, the stars are stacked vertically,

[01:11] so they look more like face tattoos. The

[01:14] rest of the new car's bumpers are

[01:16] actually pretty similar to before. You

[01:17] get large intakes on either side and

[01:19] some contrasting trim at the edge of the

[01:21] front splitter. But that's [music] it.

[01:23] It's almost impossible to spot the

[01:24] differences down the side. The bodywork

[01:26] is almost identical. And yes, you'll be

[01:28] able to get the GLE as this coupe and a

[01:31] taller upright SUV. However, there are

[01:33] new alloy wheels on offer across the

[01:34] range. They measure up to 22 inches on

[01:37] the GLE and a whopping 23 inches on the

[01:39] GLS. But can you spot what's changed at

[01:42] the back? Yeah, both cars [music] have

[01:44] even more star graphics in their brake

[01:47] lights. The GLE keeps things relatively

[01:49] sensible with four, but the GLS has gone

[01:51] all out with six. I get the AMG has

[01:54] always been slightly flashier than BMW's

[01:56] M division or Audi's RS department, but

[01:58] this is ridiculous. At least the four

[02:01] massive exhaust pipes have stuck around

[02:03] on both cars. Although, if they're

[02:05] anything like the old models, these will

[02:06] be oversized metal trims with smaller

[02:08] pipes hiding inside. [music] As you

[02:10] probably guessed by now, these aren't

[02:11] completely new models. They're

[02:13] comprehensive updates for the same GLE

[02:15] that's been on sale since 2018, and the

[02:17] same GLS [music] that's been around

[02:19] since 2019. But, I'm not mad that

[02:21] Mercedes is keeping these cars alive,

[02:23] especially because it means they are

[02:25] iconic 4-liter twin-turbo V8 are getting

[02:27] a new lease of life. As well as new

[02:29] intakes exhausts camshafts and

[02:31] upgraded turbos, [music]

[02:32] Mercedes has given these SUVs a new

[02:34] flat-plane crank. The crankshaft

[02:36] converts the pistons' up-and-down motion

[02:38] into rotation. [music] A cross-plane

[02:40] crank has its throws set 90° apart,

[02:43] giving a rumbling V8 sound, but [music]

[02:45] more inertia.

[02:49] A flat-plane crank has its throws 180°

[02:52] apart, enabling faster revs and A

[02:54] HIGHER-PITCHED WAIL.

[02:58] FERRARI FAMOUSLY USES FLAT-PLANE cranks

[03:00] in its V8 supercars, and so did AMG in

[03:02] the ultra-exclusive GT Black Series. So,

[03:05] what on earth is it using a flat-plane

[03:06] crank for [music] on a big, heavy SUV?

[03:09] Well, it's not for huge power gains.

[03:11] Both cars have 612 horsepower and 850

[03:14] Newton meters of torque, which is the

[03:15] same as before. And, they still use the

[03:17] same 22 horsepower electric motor and

[03:19] mild hybrid system to save a bit of fuel

[03:22] when you're cruising, and add an extra

[03:23] 205 Newton meters of torque when you

[03:25] suddenly accelerate. But, there is

[03:27] method in AMG's apparent madness. The

[03:29] internals of a flat-plane crank V8 tend

[03:32] to be lighter than a cross-plane crank,

[03:34] and this is one reason why they can rev

[03:35] up so quickly and hit insane redlines.

[03:38] This saves [music] fuel, and therefore

[03:39] reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Also,

[03:42] with a flat-plane crank, [music] the

[03:43] exhaust pulses coming from each cylinder

[03:45] bank are more regular. That's why they

[03:47] have that high-pitched wail.

[03:50] But, actually, this doesn't make much

[03:51] difference in a naturally aspirated

[03:53] engine like in an old Ferrari, but in a

[03:55] twin turbo car like the new GLE and GLS

[03:58] 63s, this smoother flow of exhaust gases

[04:00] helps the two turbos work more

[04:02] efficiently. Basically, they create more

[04:04] boost more of the time. So, how does

[04:05] this affect the performance of the new

[04:07] SUVs? Well, the 0 to 60 times haven't

[04:09] changed for either car. The GLE 63 does

[04:12] it in 3.9 seconds and the GLS in 4.2

[04:15] seconds and they both hit the same 174

[04:18] mph top speed. But I don't really care

[04:21] because these engines should feel very

[04:23] different to drive and they should sound

[04:25] completely different, too. [music] And

[04:26] that's not the only thing that's

[04:27] completely changed about these cars

[04:29] because check out these interiors. There

[04:31] are screens for days. [music] Both cars

[04:34] get a new wrap-around driver's display

[04:35] that completely absorbs the central

[04:37] touchscreen. And because it's 2026, you

[04:39] can't have a high-end luxury car without

[04:41] some kind of dedicated passenger display

[04:43] as well. Seriously, does anyone actually

[04:45] use these? Most passengers will just be

[04:47] on their phone, not messing around with

[04:48] the car's screen. Anyway, this stuff is

[04:50] carried over from the standard non-AMG

[04:52] versions of the new GLE and GLS, but in

[04:55] these 63 models, you get different

[04:56] [music] graphics, specific performance

[04:58] readouts, and customization options. The

[05:00] seats have also been given an AMG

[05:02] makeover with extra support and new

[05:04] exclusive leather options. And you also

[05:06] get a very similar steering wheel to the

[05:08] AMG GT with the all-important rotary

[05:10] switches. You use these to switch

[05:12] between different driving modes, adjust

[05:14] the stiffness of the adaptive air

[05:15] suspension, and my favorite, crank those

[05:18] exhaust valves all the way open.

[05:20] Passengers in the GLS's third row will

[05:22] thank you for it, at least for a bit.

[05:24] But, will your wallet thank you? Well,

[05:26] almost certainly not. Mercedes hasn't

[05:28] confirmed exactly how much these cars

[05:30] will cost yet, [music] but you can

[05:31] guarantee they'll be slightly dearer

[05:33] than the outgoing models. That means the

[05:35] GLE 63 will set you back over 140,000

[05:38] pounds and a range-topping GLS 63 will

[05:41] be over 160,000

[05:43] pounds. I'll be reviewing both these

[05:44] cars as soon as I can get my hands on

[05:46] them to tell you if they're worth the

[05:47] cash. Or are these European SUVs just

[05:50] overpriced? Because China [music] is

[05:51] offering more power for less money in

[05:54] the form of the Zeekr 8X. If you want to

[05:56] find out exactly what I mean, you need

[05:58] to check out the video just on the right

[06:00] of this screen. Thanks for watching, and

[06:01] I'll see you next time.