Latest news with #AMGC63
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Mercedes-AMG will keep its V8 as long as possible
Mercedes-AMG just unveiled the AMG GT XX concept, a 1,341-horsepower preview of the performance division's first dedicated EV. But AMG has no plans to give up on its signature V-8 engines. In an interview with Motor1, AMG CEO Michael Schiebe said the Mercedes sub-brand's next V8 will arrive in 2027, and that-despite the emissions-related push for electrification-there's not firm date for when it will be retired. "Since we are just in the development of a new V8, there is not a natural end date that we have defined," Schiebe said. "We keep on going as long as we see that there is customer demand, and especially, you know, when it comes to the U.S., for example, we see that there are still customers that just want the V8, a pure V8. And so this is why we are investing in the technology." While current European Union rules put the bloc on a path to ending sales of new internal-combustion cars by 2035 (unless synthetic fuels enter widespread use), the V8 could live on past that point outside AMG's home market, Schiebe noted. "There is, at the moment, a natural ending in Europe," the AMG CEO said, adding that this isn't the case right now for other markets. "In the U.S., in the overseas market, where there is no certain end date, I'm pretty confident that we will carry them a couple of years, beginning of the [20]30s, middle of the [20]30s." For now, the next-generation AMG V8 is being engineered to comply with the Euro 7 emissions rules that will be in place when it arrives. These will be the last round of EU emissions rules before 2035, when stricter rules will call for new cars to have zero carbon-dioxide emissions. Synthetic fuels have been discussed as a workaround to this, but given the difficulty in scaling them up at affordable prices, a change in the rules may be the only way to keep AMG V8s alive in their home market past the middle of next decade. AMG is already leaning on plug-in hybrids as a compromise between stricter emissions rules and performance. The current iterations of the AMG C63 sedan and GLC63 crossover ditched their V8s for turbocharged four-cylinder engines fortified by plug-in hybrid systems. They may not have the delightful soundtrack of their predecessors, but these AMG models' 671 hp is nothing to sneer at. A similar plug-in hybrid system is coupled to AMG's current 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in the S63 SL63, and GT63, increasing performance while keeping engine displacement in check. And the AMG E53 offers an EPA-rated 43 miles of electric range but can still accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Vehicles like these could continue to play an important role at AMG. Ola Källenius, CEO of parent Mercedes-Benz, recently said the hybrid version of the redesigned CLA-Class compact would continue longer than expected due to fluctuating demand for EVs. The CLA launches with Mercedes' latest electric-powertrain tech, but the automaker is still hedging its bets with the hybrid version. It wouldn't be surprising for AMG to do the same. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Drive
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Mercedes-AMG Might Be Having a Windows Vista Moment With These Four-Cylinder Hybrids
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Multi-billion-dollar companies get so caught up in innovation that they focus more on what they could do than what they should do. Sure, the products are usually impressive from a technological standpoint, but oftentimes, they're way worse to use. One example that comes to mind is Windows Vista—the fresh-looking operating system from 2007 that people absolutely hated to work with. Another more recent example is the four-cylinder plug-in hybrid Mercedes-AMG models that used to run twin-turbo V8s. Like Windows Vista, Mercedes-AMG's small-displacement PHEVs are great in theory. Microsoft marketed better security and enhanced search functionality with its OS; meanwhile, Mercedes bragged about its 671 horsepower with electric turbo anti-lag and supercar-like zero-to-60 times. But just as customers grew massively frustrated with Vista and its inability to run on older computers without crashing, drivers decided that all that power from an electrified AMG isn't any good if you can't hear it. Vista's predecessor, Windows XP, was admittedly showing its age by the time the new version came along, but like the old-fashioned V8, it worked—and on the rare occasion that it didn't, its users knew how to identify, troubleshoot, and eliminate those shortcomings. See the resemblance? Microsoft / Mercedes-AMG Mercedes acknowledges this now as it's reportedly moving away from the four-cylinders to build more inline-sixes and V8s. Autocar cites a source at Mercedes as saying, 'Technically, the four-cylinder is one of the most advanced drivetrains available in a production car. It's also right up there on performance. But despite this, it failed to resonate with our traditional customers. We've recognized that.' This would also mean that, like Vista, the four-cylinder AMG C63 and GLC63 didn't last long. If you'll remember, those only launched three years ago, in 2022. That's even shorter than Vista, which received mainstream support for five years, through 2012. Still, Microsoft's faux pas was far more widespread. Estimates claim some 330 million people were tortured by Vista, while far fewer than 100,000 ever took a chance on the AMGs that whir like a vacuum cleaner. 'We jumped far ahead with this technology, but we should have explained the technology more to our salespeople and customers,' explained AMG boss Michael Schiebe to Car Magazine in April. 'We will continue to do that and further improve. There is a German saying, 'You never have a second chance at a first impression.' Maybe we missed out on the first impression, but if you have the opportunity, I'm sure you will be convinced of the technology.' The list of Vista criticisms is longer, too—enough to warrant not just a Wikipedia tab but an entire page. Everybody's beef with the electrified four-cylinders is pretty much the same: They sound bad. That's a pretty big problem considering the customers they're marketed to. Mercedes was so sure people wouldn't mind the switch from twin-turbo V8s to plug-in hybrid four-cylinders, and really, that's as crazy as it seems. Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@
