Can the Mercedes-AMG G63 Do Racetrack? Willow Springs Raceway with the Answer

The AMG badge and the abundance of power could have you fooled into believing this thing can go fast. And you'd be right, as long as the road keeps going straight. Throw a curve into the mix and the mighty G63 will suddenly develop some issues. Its solid live axle setup both front and rear coupled with the huge ground clearance and the high center of gravity that comes with it mean that there's going to be plenty of body roll.

What's even worse, as Matt Farah, the man doing this review for /Drive found out, is that the traction control won't even allow you to make use of all that power while the wheels are turned. That means that accelerating out of a corner can only come once you are truly done with it and your front wheels are parallel to the car. This way of doing things isn't exactly beneficial when trying to go fast around a track.

And what a track that is. The big AMG SUV got to drive laps on the legendary Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California, one of the oldest circuits in the U.S.A., but it's fair to say it didn't rise to the occasion. Luckily, the G-Wagon was offered the chance of redeeming itself by going up the hills surrounding the track, which is where it feels most at home. With its three lockable differentials that come standard on every model, the G-Class makes no secret of its utilitarian ancestry, and if you think a twin-turbo V8 and lots of leather on the interior are going to change what this car really is, you're just kidding yourself.