Photos: 2008 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG

Mercedes-Benz's AMG division started out as an independent tuner shop run by former Mercedes-Benz engineers. In 1999, Mercedes-Benz bought the AMG shop and made it an in-house tuner.

The S63 AMG started life out as a standard S-class sedan, and its body retains that styling.

Recently, the AMG division developed its own 6.3-liter V-8, and has been fitting it into a number of Mercedes-Benz models. In the S63, that engine produces 518 horsepower.

Each AMG engine is hand-built and fitted with a badge showing the signature of the engineer who put it together.

The S-class, with its big, European sedan looks, proves a good candidate for the AMG treatment.

This car has an optional AMG performance package, which gives it 20-inch wheels.

Besides the S63 badge on the trunk lip, you can tell an AMG car by the four big tailpipes.

We really like the incredibly clean interior design, with a minimal set of buttons marring the look.

The rear seats in this car are quite comfortable, with lots of leg room. Each seat has eight-way power adjustment, and there is a sunroof over the rear.

Along with its powerful engine and performance-tuned transmission, the S63 has top-of-the-line cabin electronics.

Handling is excellent for such a large car. The suspension uses active damping to keep it flat during cornering.

The seven-speed transmission is programmed for performance downshifts, while the paddle shifters control lightning quick manual gear shifts.

With the AMG performance package, the top speed limiter has been moved up to 186 mph. The tach also gets a nice AMG logo.

Most cabin functions can be controlled with this big metal knob, the primary interface in the COMAND system.

Along with RCA audio inputs, the S63 AMG also has a video input, as the dashboard LCD can show video from external devices.

The maps look very good on the S63 AMG's navigation system. But you need to zoom in all the way to see every street name.

XM live traffic reporting is integrated with the navigation system, letting you see a list of incidents on nearby roads.

Traffic flow information is also shown on the map, with yellow indicated traffic moving between 20 and 40 mph, while red means traffic going less than 20 mph.

The navigation system has a typical points-of-interest database, showing useful locations such as restaurants.

Sirius satellite radio comes as one of the audio sources.

The six-disc changer plays MP3 CDs and even DVDs.

The audio quality from the 14-speaker Harmon/Kardon stereo is excellent.

We found that the voice command system worked very well, with intuitive commands.

The Night View Assist feature turns the speedometer into a video screen showing what's out in front of the car, using infrared to show what can't be seen with normal light.

The front seats can be fine-tuned to fit their occupants, and also have a massage mode.

The rear-view parking camera is very clear on this car.