Car's the star

PITSTOP

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the E63 AMG, the fastest Mercedes-Benz E-Class of all time. Powering it is a 6300cc er... power station that puts out 541 bhp and gives this E-Class a 0-100 kph time of 4.5 seconds.

The 63 kgm of torque from the naturally aspirated V8 is enough to make mincemeat of German autobahns. The top speed of the car is obviously limited to 250 kph, but shhh, we hear that it can be altered if the need arises. And just in case you are looking to move houses in a hurry, the E63 is also available as an estate.

Just like every other AMG, this engine too is hand-built in tune with the 'one man, one engine' principle that the Mercedes performance tuning firm works on. Attached to it is the ubiquitous 7G-Tronic automatic transmission.

Other performance oriented bits include a more driver oriented suspension and a high-performance braking system from AMG. And why not? After all this is the fastest the star has ever been on a four-door sedan from Stuttgart.

Heart of the matter

The results of the Engine of the Year awards are out for this year. However, this time, the results aren't too different from last year's.

For starters, BMW has managed to bag the International Engine of the Year award yet again for its brilliant feat of engineering, the 5000cc V10. Yes, the same 507 bhp motor that powers the M5 and the M6 was chosen by motoring journalists from 29 countries for the second time in a row. Wonder if they drove anything new in the past year.

But in all seriousness, the BMW motor with its Formula One derived technology deserves to occupy top spot, especially since the jury chose it over the 4300cc V8 that powers the Ferrari F430.

Among other significant winners, the Best New Engine of the Year award went to the 1400cc TSI twin-charger from Volkswagen that powers the Golf, while Toyota's 1500cc Hybrid Synergy Drive that does duty in the Prius, not surprisingly, won the Best Fuel Economy Engine of the Year award. Congratulations are in order!