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New Mercedes C63 AMG Won’t Have V8 – Instead, Hybrid Four Cylinder Will Be Used

Well, it looks like our time is up. We can pack our bags, guys, the new Mercedes C63 AMG is losing its sonorous V8 engine. Not only that, but it’s gaining a hybrid powertrain, with the exploding part of it only consisting of four cylinders.

Mercedes is certainly moving with the times and forming a relationship with the polar bears to keep the greens happy. But hopefully their offer of 500bhp will keep us on the right side, too. I don’t know about you, but I still need to be won over.

Going on sale in 2022, this new C63 AMG will be the first of a number of hybrid-powered sports cars from the German marque with its new 2.0-litre turbocharged M139 engine. According to Autocar, the new model is already undergoing development at AMG’s Affalterbach engineering headquarters.

Take away the electric half of the powertrain, and the engine alone creates 416bhp and 369lb ft of torque and can already be found in the A45. The engine will slowly make its way into more Mercedes models such as the currently V6-powered C43.

The new car will be available in saloon, coupé and convertible variants, but with it no longer available with a V8 – the very V8 that allowed it to gain ‘European muscle’ status – I wonder how sales may be affected.

Power from the engine and an 8-volt integrated alternator-starter motor will be fed straight through a 9-speed torque converter to the rear wheels, and might use F1-derived energy recovery to feed energy back into the batteries.

With a few years left before the polar bears get their way, it might be worth enjoying the current model now. Take a listen to the video above and revel in the fact that you were around when the V8s had their day.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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