2019 Mercedes Benz S63 AMG

Mercedes-Benz has released the 2011 S63 AMG which now comes with the same new engine seen in the facelifted CL63 AMG coupe. We’re referring to the 5.5-litre biturbo V8 which comes with spray-guided direct petrol injection and piezo injectors. In standard form the engine produces 544 hp and 800 Nm of torque, but the addition of the AMG performance package pushes this up to 571 hp and 900 Nm. The difference between the standard and AMG package is the increase in the maximum charge pressure from 1.0 to 1.3 bar. In addition, the engine cover comes in genuine carbon fibre. The S63 now uses the AMG Speedshift MCT 7-speed sports transmission, which along with a new start stop system contributes to better fuel economy of 10.5 litres per 100km, which is 25% improved over the old naturally aspirated V8. Century mark acceleration takes just 4.5 seconds. Top speed is limited to 250 km/h (4.4 sec and 300 km/h for AMG Performance Package). This fast S sits on AMG triple-spoke light alloys fitted with 255/40 or 275/40 R19 tyres. AMG Performance Package adds AMG double-spoke forged 20-inch wheels, AMG Performance steering wheel with Alcantara inserts, and AMG trim in black piano lacquer/carbon fibre. The S63 AMG will be offered in both short and a long wheelbase versions, and its market launch is expected at the end of September. Hi res gallery after the jump.

There’s a reason why this car is so popular in the Tri-State area, not least in that it’s a rolling status symbol at the highest level. Yet to reduce it to badge-bragging is to ignore what really makes the S Class so successful - and that success so enduring. The S Class and its variants are some of the most capable cars on the road today. The size is deceptive: they’re athletic to go with their deep vein of technology. Much of that tech will eventually find its way into Mercedes’ more affordable models, too, having proved its worth among a seriously discriminating audience. Times, though, have changed since the early days of the S Class. Mercedes’ finest now faces competition not only from its domestic rivals, such as the Audi A8 and BMW 7 Series, but new riffs on the luxury segment, such as the Range Rover SVAutobiography Long Wheelbase. What keeps S Class buyers returning, though, is just as much about brand loyalty as it is technology and cosseting. For the rest of us, it’s the trickle-down of refinement that we have to look forward to. I may not be able to afford an S Class today, but there’s a fair chance I’ll be benefiting tomorrow from the technologies that make their debut in it.

Miniature plants lend themselves naturally to miniature gardens, and one of the most fascinating ways of growing many of the smaller alpine treasures is in the stone sinks and troughs. The idea for such gardens apparently first originated with Mr. Clarence Elliot, famed alpinist decades ago, who awakened interest in them through his writings and exhibits at the Chelsea Flower show. Since those earlier days, interest has not flagged for here is a way of having a garden of manageable size, easy to tend, and where certain treasures of the alpine plant world can be grown more easily than anywhere else. The sinks are the stone sinks used in kitchens before the days of the glazed porcelain, fireclay or stainless steel. The troughs, deeper vessels, were the cast-outs of the farm, erstwhile feeding throughs of horses, cattle and other farm animals, variable in size and shape or less often a trough that at one time graced the outdoor yard pump. At one time available for a song, today they may have to be searched for more diligently and paid for less blithely.

But they can still be found where the demolition of old houses is taking place, forgotten in some farmyard, country junk yard or at the alpine nursery. They are permanent acquisitions for the garden, and signs of wear usually make them the more appealing and amenable for garden purposes. A single sink or trough can make as fine and as significant an ornament as a statue, and a pair, flanking a porch or entrance, keep their symmetry far better than matched shrubs or conifers. The sinks are usually made of hard sandstone or millstone grit, less often of limestone; natural stones congenial to plants. Sinks and troughs come in various shapes and sizes, but all are usually adaptable for use as miniature alpine gardens. If they are dirty and much spoilt with green algae growth, moss and encrustations, they can be cleaned by scrubbing with an ordinary solution of domestic bleach, followed by a hosing down with clear water.

The basic essential is good drainage. Sinks usually have a drainage hole to the middle or at one end. All the shallow sink needs is for a simple herringbone of V-cut channels to be made with a chisel in the base of the sink that will carry water to the drainage hole. Then if the sink is placed on its supporters with a slight inclination to one end and the position of the drainage hole, it will drain perfectly. Troughs often have no drainage holes, in which case one or more must be cut with a stone mason’s rose head drilling chisel and heavy hammer. If the base of the trough slopes to the center, a single hole in the center will suffice; otherwise drainage channels may be cut to the hole, or holes made at 6 inches apart over all the base. Where to Place the Sink/Trough Garden? When the sink or trough has received these attentions, it is best placed in its permanent position.