Why does AMG = RWD?

I recently spent a few months living and working London, and the automotive environment in that city is a sight to behold. Everything tends to the extreme. Smart fourtwos and legions of classic and modern Minis battle Bentleys and high-po Bavarian sedans for the capital's sparse lane space. The posher parts of town, especially close to my digs in Kensington, are dominated by those big, pricey Germans. A Boxster may as well be a Beetle in southwest London, and a great many of the rides of choice wear the three-letter badge of Deutschland's most power-crazed tuning arm, Mercedes' AMG.

The McLaren-built SLR notwithstanding, all Mercedes' premium products are AMG-branded supersleds. Beginning as an independent tuner, the shop earned enough respect in its work as a racecar builder to be chosen as a company partner on production Mercedes vehicles beginning in 1993. With even more success building M-B's factory cars for DTM and FIA GT racing, AMG eventually was absorbed by Daimler-Benz in 1999 and repurposed as a factory performance division turning out high-priced, high-powered versions of standard Mercedes road cars.

This is nothing terribly groundbreaking, of course. Virtually every manufacturer has an in-house tuner, creating a sub-brand to differentiate products for the slightly more hardcore (or overly image-conscious) enthusiast. BMW's M Sport and Audi's RS line are AMG's most obvious direct competitors in this swarm of acronyms, joined by STi, TRD, SRT and a host of others. Each of these divisions has its own self-imposed limitations. M Sport, for example, doesn't do forced induction. The M badge and Audi's RS moniker never touch the company's biggest, thirstiest sedans to protect those brands' reputations for sporty cars, so we've never had an M7 or an RS8.

That said, relative to the factory tuning arms of the other automakers, Mercedes' aces always seem to do things with the volume cranked to 11. No Benz vehicle seems to be safe from AMG's wrenches, including the massive S-class sedan, which when blessed with a twin-turbo 6.0L V12 makes 612 horsepower and roars from zero to 62 in an astonishing 4.4 seconds. This is AMG's bread and butter. They take big, heavy cars and stuff big, angry turbo motors into them with big, tough automatic transmissions. Sure, you can buy a CL65 AMG coupe with the same drivetrain, but heck, anybody can make a fast coupe- BMW's 500-hp M6 and Audi's upcoming RS5, for example. The S63 and S65 AMG, though, are unchallenged. If you want to go faster than anyone else in four-door comfort, you buy an S65 and close the book. Even the new crop of supersaloons (Maserati Quattroporte, Aston Martin Rapide, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Porsche Panamera, etc.) can't match the absolutely terrifying acceleration an AMG S-class can provide.

AMG has a problem, however. Producing obscene levels of power in a big, heavy sedan isn't a simple process, even after the engine, transmission, suspension and brakes have been uprated to handle all that muscle. The weak point is the rubber, and this is where AMG stops acting like engineering gods and starts to obediently follow the company line. See, every AMG car is rear-wheel-drive, and two drive wheels simply CAN'T PUT THAT MUCH POWER DOWN. And because these are based on standard Mercedes luxury cars, and have to retain plenty of rear seat space and luggage capacity, there simply isn't room for tires beyond a certain width. Mickey Thompson drag radials aren't the most practical choice for the street, so those are out too.

To cope with all that ridiculous power and keep fat old men from oversteering into ditches, AMG has no choice but to strangle its own engines with electronic traction control. Now don't get me wrong here--traction control is a good thing. It can intervene and save the lives of even the most experienced drivers in low-grip situations. But in an S65 or any of the other AMG sedans, traction control is constantly called upon just to keep the rear tires from overpowering everything. Try a launch that's anything beyond Buddhist-calm and buttery smooth, or get on the gas mid-corner, and the driver finds the car constantly pulsing the brakes to keep ass behind nose.

This wouldn't be such a big deal if top speed was an AMG's party piece, but every German muscle saloon is limited to 155mph and virtually none of the Autobahn is unrestricted anymore. Proposals are even under consideraton in the German government to establish a nationwide speed limit. The upcoming supersedans from Aston and BMW (remember the Concept CS?) will be faster in the top end, as is the Flying Spur. So at this point, AMG has nothing but horsepower and torque numbers protecting its position at the top of the factory-tuner food chain. There is no better way to court poseurs and alienate enthusiasts than by building cars the way AMG is doing it today.

To hold onto this slot, AMG has to start building all-wheel-drive cars--HAS to. BMW M Sport's resolute decision to cling to RWD makes sense. The M division holds tight to its fundamental front-engine, rear-drive layout without forced induction for the purest driving experience, while Audi has embraced AWD with a vengeance and made quattro its selling point since its WRC dominance in the crazy 80's. AMG has become synonymous with two things: cartoonish power and traction control. No one buys an AMG expecting a sports car, so the division's slavish adherence to RWD drivetrains is ultimately pointless.

Mercedes already has AWD systems from its heavy machinery division and the M-class and R-class SUV/crossover lines. With a clear lead over the competition in power numbers, and the game-changing Black Series cars just introduced, it's high time AMG woke up to AWD. Beyond just helping to rein in excessive torque, driving the front wheels will make their cars safer in the wet and even--dare I say it?--useful in the event of snow. Otherwise the company is stymied. More power, the division's perennial goal, would simply be pointless.

So get to it, AMG. Set your oversized brains to the task of revising a Mercedes AWD system that can handle 700lb-ft, and reclaim your status as a legitimate performance marque.