Twice the horsepower of a ZHP...

This weekend, the good folks as that other German car company have loaned me a vehicle that's both crazy fast...and just plain crazy.

That would be an AMG G63, an SUV with a 550 horsepower hand built V8.

The car has plenty of limitations on-road--numb steering, high center of gravity, overworked brakes--but one blip of the throttle and you forget all about it.
The engine, made from start to finish by a guy named Sacha Puckert, makes such a glorious noise that it's hard not to floor it even in town...and then watch pedestrians turn around in fear/confusion/annoyance.

Needless to say, I was the cool dad this weekend to my 16-year-old son's friends who took time out from Halo 4 to cruise in the freshly dubbed Swag Mobile.

I almost want one. Too bad that at $135,000, it's as much as two new M3s.
And that I can't even afford a used 325. But for another 36 hours, I get to dream at least.

Wow they really put that front bumper on it? Wow.

The one that I've got has a brush guard/cow catcher/ pedestrian bouncer on it like the one in the pic.

I had driven on a mountain in G Class in Austria, and it might be the most badass off-road vehicle you can buy at a dealership.
But no locked differential driving in NJ this weekend.

Why did they loan you that vehicle?

Originally Posted by tj710

why did they loan you that vehicle?

+1

Out of the goodness of their hearts...

and because I'm writing a short road test for Road & Track.

Originally Posted by tj710

why did they loan you that vehicle?

+2

EDIT: We posted at the same time. Cool stuff

you write for road and track?

2/10 would not bang

Yeah too bad its ****ing ugly

Sent from my DROIDX using Bimmer App

who needs that when a 325ix can do the trick.

you can buy a Jeep wrangler 4 door that looks almost identical, i actually saw one the other day and thought it was a G-class.

Originally Posted by peytonracer4

you write for road and track?

Yes. Road & Track is a new gig for me--they've got a new editor and we have mutual friends--but I've written for magazines of all kinds, ranging from Maxim to Rolling Stone to the New York Times Magazine. I've also written several books.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/racing/m...ife-well-lived

As for the G-Wagon.
Yes, Merc, in regular driving a 325ix will do most of what you need. And, stud, that Jeep is a dead ringer. But a lot of people would point out the close resemblance between a Honda Accord and a 5-series BMW, too, but we know better.

http://www.autospies.com/news/Did-Ho...-Accord-72357/

The basic G-wagon is a 30 year old design, an SUV before there was such a thing.

the g-wagon is on another level of off-road , design , dependability , and quality.

I'd like to point out that it's more like 2.5x as much HP as the ZHP... and given that the ZHP has been out of production for a while I find it an odd reference!

I'm sure it was quick, but did it feel 550hp quick? Doesn't it weigh close to 3 tons?

I love the G-wagon..I find it's a love or hate thing. Amazing on the straights but not too good in the corners. The price is insane though but when compared with the G65, which is north of 200k, the G63 may seem like a bargin.

Originally Posted by mistrzmiasta

the g-wagon is on another level of off-road , design , dependability , and quality.

+1. One of my dream cars

I want a Defender 110 with the X5 35d/335d engine. I'd take that over a G wagon.

Originally Posted by zhp43867

I'd like to point out that it's more like 2.5x as much HP as the ZHP... and given that the ZHP has been out of production for a while I find it an odd reference!

I'm sure it was quick, but did it feel 550hp quick? Doesn't it weigh close to 3 tons?

I love the G-wagon..I find it's a love or hate thing. Amazing on the straights but not too good in the corners. The price is insane though but when compared with the G65, which is north of 200k, the G63 may seem like a bargin.

True dat, the ZHP reference was just a way to relate back to the E46. That said, I was walking in a crowded mall parking lot, and I didn't see another car that could come within 150 HP of the g63.

Yeah, it's plenty quick, but not like 1.7 M3s quick. It feels much faster when you're paddle shifting it--in automatic mode there's often a significant lag.

I drove a bunch of other AMG cars in Germany--a c63, SL63, and the awesome SLS--and they were blazingly quick. That said, the side pipe exhausts on this sound glorious, like a Sprint Cup car.

Kwando, you pretty much nailed it. Fun just to rev the engine hot rod style--it's pretty cool to be scaring passengers going only 40 mph.

But the center of gravity is so high and it's so heavy that you have to proceed with caution in the corners.

The place the G really shines is off road. The Mercedes test drivers scared the pants off me blasting down singletrack mountain trails at 60 mph, literally catching air off the bumps.

I'm in the "love it" camp, although I think this would really have to be your fourth car or something and if you can afford a $135,000 toy, then te salute, Don Corleone.

ZHP: I've never driven the defender, but with a 250 hp engine it's really a different kind of beast than the g63. I can imagine this thing would be ponderous with a normal amount of horsepower.

a tank has hp too