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► AMG boss Michael Scheibe confirms enigne U-turn
► More V8 power returning, PHEVs on borrowed time
► EVs still to come, starting with next-gen GT four-door
The performance brand perhaps best known for its engines – Mercedes-AMG – is ‘doubling down’ on them once again.
AMG boss Michael Scheibe has confirmed to CAR that a new wave of combustion power will return to its future cars, including the V8. As the brand aims to be ‘more AMG than ever before,’ according to Scheibe, he announced to us that the brand is ‘doubling down on our internal combustion engine cars again, but at the same time we’ll put equal emphasis on our great EV line-up.’
The AMG V8 is back
First up: the confirmed return of the V8. ‘At the end of the year, you’ll see the V8 coming back to AMG,’ says Scheibe. ‘We will launch it again with SUVs, but other cars will get it too.’
Those ‘other cars’ almost certainly include the new ‘Mythos’ special edition based on the CLE coupe (pictured above), which has already been teased by Mercedes. This model features track-spec fixed aerodynamics, and Mercedes confirms it will remain a ‘limited-edition collector vehicle’ like the AMG PureSpeed.
This new V8 will likely be a performance variant of the M177 Evo engine that has launched in the S-Class; a flat-plane crank V8 that has mild hybrid assistance. Intel suggests the V8 will remain reasonably exclusive, though; it will likely be deployed in high-end AMG models but won’t be rolled out everywhere like the good old days.
The four-cylinder PHEV AMG is dying (if not actually dead)
The widely panned four-cylinder plug-in hybrid (internally codenamed the ‘P3 hybrid’) system in the AMG C63 is going to be replaced by a new ‘free-revving’ six-cylinder. The new engine has already been put into service in the refreshed AMG GLC 53 with the GLC 43 and 63 being retired. Scheibe adds: ‘the engine will also come into our facelifted C-Class.’
The 4cyl PHEV’s application elsewhere, however, is in doubt; ‘I don’t want to give you more information as to whether we will see the P3 hybrid that we have at the moment in our GT and SL, but I will say here that we are still undecided [about its continued use] because we will have more power coming from the next generation of V8s.’
PHEVs won’t entirely disappear, but the available options will shrink says Scheibe. ‘So, the GLE 53 and E53 [PHEV] will continue, because we see it’s a very good compromise for people that live in areas where there are certain restrictions [on emissions],’ he says.
But in other ways, the PHEV can be too much of a flaw; ‘one of the downsides of the P3 powertrain was to do with the space. If you put the battery in the trunk, it came with a compromise. And, at the same time, it’s a lot of weight – if you want to have a lightweight car, sometimes it’s best to have a V8-only car.’
The electric AMG is still coming
That expanded range of engine options will be accompanied by various electric cars still on their way, as Scheibe says they still have their benefits. ‘There will be customers that want to have that combustion feeling, drive the combustion engine and you can give them a really pure V8 experience,’ says Scheibe. ‘And for those who want all of the EV KPIs in terms of acceleration and the ability to drive the car in complete silence, they can go all electric.’
The first of this new-generation of AMG EVs come in the shape of the next GT four-door that’s due to be revealed soon. This new GT four-door model will use axial flux electric motors that have been developed by YASA, with its design and interior technology teased via the GT XX concept.
An electric AMG SUV has been confirmed, too, and CAR understands that AMG is also working on a battery-electric AMG CLA model, after spy photographers caught an electric shooting brake model testing at the Nürburgring (pictured below). It’s likely – though unconfirmed – that AMG is also working on its own version of the electric C-Class and GLC EV.
Why have this combustion and EV strategy? ‘Because we see that the demand for EVs in different markets is developing at different speeds,’ says Scheibe. ‘Some are very open to electric cars, but in the US for example we still have a loyal gas car community and we want to cater to their demands.
‘For us, the customer can decide whatever technology they want.’
