Summary
- Mercedes-AMG, known for its high-performance vehicles, is shifting towards hybrid powertrains and smaller combustion engines to maintain top-tier performance.
- Despite these changes, Mercedes-AMG assures its customers that performance and innovation remain its top priorities, with the potential return of the AMG V-8 with hybrid assistance in future models.
Mercedes-AMG, the performance branch of Mercedes-Benz, has been producing high-performance vehicles since the mid-1960s, though not officially until the early 1990s when a formal agreement was met between the two masterminds behind AMG, Erhard Melcher and Hans Werner, and Mercedes-Benz to create a quote: "Super Sedan".
The AMG division was established to design, test, and produce high-performance racing engines, and they did just that! But they, along with Mercedes-Benz, quickly realized the appeal of applying such innovations to consumer models.
Taking luxury Mercedes-Benz sedans, early models include the E-class sedan, and applying their technical and mechanical prowess to not only completely upgrade the powertrain but build a car capable of handling the excess power provided by the souped-up engines. This set the stage for future performance-focused sedans to become available to the public, instead of exclusively for the track.
The first official joint project from Mercedes-AMG was the C 36 AMG, created in 1993. Since then, Mercedes-AMG has produced numerous models, many considered iconic, and what started as two engineering geniuses with a dream of creating high-performance engines for luxury and automaker grew into a historic, and storied, journey to perfection.
But as we’ve observed, time waits for no manufacturer, and Mercedes-AMG is no exception, with the latest models boasting hybrid powertrains, some lines, including the AMG C63, even ditching the legendary V-8 altogether for a more economical hybrid integrated four-cylinder.
How Does Mercedes-AMG Plan To Maintain Top-Tier Performance Without The V-8?
Since the introduction of their speedy production cars, large engines, and unruly power elegantly blended with luxury and quality in mind have been a standard expectation, but that may be about to change, save for the luxury, as Mercedes-AMG looks to the future of high-performance to evolve their line-up.
With the speed and performance landscape shifting heavily toward electrified integration and smaller combustion engines, many true AMG enthusiasts fear the beloved AMG V-8, the most popular power plant across all AMG models, may soon cease to exist. And by the looks of the current Mercedes-AMG power direction, their fears seem to have reasonable cause.
The 2023 Mercedes-AMG E63 S marked the end of the E-class V-8s, with the series likely following the path of the C63 and shifting toward hybrid power. Featuring a 603-horsepower twin-turbo V-8, the 2023 E63 S pairs raw power with a multi-clutch nine-speed transmission and all-wheel drive to deliver one of the top super sedans on the market, only rivaled by the likes of the BMW M5 and Audi RS7.
A pair of turbochargers allow the 4.0-liter V-8 to produce 627 pound-feet of torque, carrying the sedan from 0-60 MPH in 3.0 seconds flat, and clocking a quarter-mile time of 11.1 seconds, crossing the finish line at 126 MPH.
2023 Mercedes-AMG E63 S Performance Specs
0-60 MPH | 3.0-Seconds |
Top Speed | 186 (governor limit) |
Horsepower | 603 |
Torque | 627 Pound-Feet |
Curb Weight | 4,587-Pounds |
Layout | Twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8, multi-clutch nine-speed transmission Four-door, five-passenger sedan, all-wheel drive |
With a top speed of 186 mph (governor limit), the 2023 Mercedes-AMG E63 S is a prime example of peak German engineering. With the slew of luxury features and performance-focused parts and tuning, the production of the E63 S only saw 999, making it (possibly) one of the last AMG V-8-powered super sedans even more exclusive.
Meanwhile, the 2024 AMG C63 features the joint German automaker’s modern electrified powertrain, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with an integrated 201-horsepower electric motor, producing 671 total horses in the luxury sedan.
Though the hybrid powertrain displays radical changes in the engine’s attitude when compared to the AMG V-8, Mercedes-AMG ensures that the electrified transitions are to increase power, not bore the driving experience.
That said, the 2024 C63 can sprint from 0-60 mph in a matter of seconds, three seconds to be exact, by utilizing an electrically-powered turbo system similar to the unit found in AMG Formula 1 race cars. The plug-in hybrid super sedan rivals the BMW M3 and Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing with its electrically augmented inline-four, yet AMG purists aren't completely sold on the idea of downsizing the iconic engine, as hybrid AMG sales are lower than predicted, while the demand for V-8 AMGs remains strong.
Mercedes-AMG Latest S-Class Features A Plug-In Hybrid V-8 Powertrain
There have been conflicting accounts based on insider knowledge claiming the end of the big engine AMG, yet we find a twin-turbocharged V-8 in the latest variant of the S-class Benz to hit the market, the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63, which features, you guessed it, a hybrid companion. The 2024 S63 boasts ridiculous stats, including, but not limited to, a 0-60 time of only 2.8 seconds, a top speed upwards of 180 MPH, 791 combined horsepower, and 1055 pound-feet of torque.
The super sedan’s powertrain is the result of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 racing team’s efforts to develop a high-performance battery that could deliver consistent performance at the highest level of motorsports. The S63 is a welcome sight for AMG enthusiasts who feared the days of harmonic howls and ground-shaking exhaust notes belted by the big engine AMGs of old were over.
This, however, doesn’t guarantee the return of the AMG V-8 for good, or even the prolonged investment by the automaker in the big power plant, as hybrid power has proven its viability at the highest level, albeit with less attitude.
What Does A V-8 AMG In 2023 Mean? What’s Next?
The familiar twin-turbo V-8 in the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 does, however, show that the German automaker pays close attention to its consumer demands, as well as displays its willingness to evolve, considering not only the integration of the hybrid powertrain with the beloved V-8, but the power increase it received as a result, as the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance is the most powerful fastest S-class ever made.
Though Mercedes-AMG has made significant changes to the tried-and-true power plants found in their most popular models, they are insistent that they have only performance and innovation in mind moving forward. This reassurance is on full display, with the latest plug-in hybrid 2024 Mercedes-AMG C63 boasting better performance, and economy than the previous C-class generation, with half the engine displacement.
The integration of a hybrid augmented V-8 in the seventh-gen S-class keeps the big engine AMG dream alive alongside electric innovation. An AMG V-8 with hybrid assistance, could make its return to the C-CLass and E-Class by 2026. Mercedes-AMG continues to move forward into the future of the automotive industry, evolving better than many automakers to ensure they remain at the helm.