Sources at Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance car off-shoot have confirmed the upcoming four-wheel drive E63 AMG will be sold with the choice of two different power outputs when it reaches the UK in 2017.

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Backing up recent comments by AMG chairman, Tobias Moers, who revealed at the recent Paris motor show the new performance saloon and estate will run the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine used by other recent AMG models, sources have now confirmed the standard E63 will offer 563bhp and 553lb of torque, with the top-of-the-range E63 S packing 603bhp and 626lb.

The new E63 will also receive a new nine-speed version of AMG’s SpeedShift automatic gearbox along with a four-wheel drive system as standard for the first time, consigning the old seven-speed Speedshift gearbox and rear-wheel drive layout used by earlier incarnations of Affalterbach’s iconic performance saloon and estate to the history books.

The outgoing second-generation E63 is powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 petrol engine delivering 549bhp and 531lb ft of torque in standard tune and 577bhp and 590lb ft in so-called S tune.

The increase in power is claimed to provide the standard version of the 2017 model year E63 with a 0-62mph time of 3.7sec. The even more powerful E63 S is said to run the benchmark in a supercar challenging 3.5sec.

“It’s the biggest step we’ve ever made with the E-Class,” says Moers.

For context, the 552bhp twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 powered Audi RS6, which also runs four-wheel drive as standard, boasts an official 0-62mph of 3.9sec.

Despite the focus of performance, Moers rules out an R version of the E63.“The R is dedicated for GT. There is no intention to use it for the E63," he says.

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The fully variable four-wheel drive set up, which is capable of apportioning up to 100 per cent of drive to the back wheels, has been developed to provide a distinctive rear wheel drive bias in a move Moers hints will see the new E63 continue to offer power oversteer traits despite the move to four-wheel drive across the model range.

“It is four-wheel drive and we’re going to have a Drift Mode,” Moers revealed to Autocar at the unveiling of Mercedes-AMG’s new GT Roadster and GT C Roadster at the Paris motor show.

The 50-year-old AMG chairman confirmed a program included in the E63’s standard electronic stability control system, which provides added torque to the rearward bias of drive to create a slide, will be called Drift Mode.