Mercedes-AMG just unveiled the AMG GT XX, a 1,340-horsepower super sedan concept with an electric powertrain and synthesized noise that one board member called “the best V-8 we have ever developed.” But fans of real, combustion V-8s needn’t worry, as AMG has a new one of those in development, which the brand’s CEO assures us will arrive in late 2027 and stick around for a while.
“Since we are just in the development of a new V-8, there is not a natural end date that we have defined,” AMG CEO Michael Schiebe told Motor1 when asked when the company might phase out its forthcoming V-8.
Photo by: Motor1.com
‘There are still customers that just want the V-8, a pure V-8.’
“We keep on going as long as we see that there is customer demand, and especially, you know, when it comes to the US, for example, we see that there are still customers that just want the V-8, a pure V-8. And so this is why we are investing in the technology.”
Schiebe acknowledged the European Union’s 2035 rule that new cars must create zero CO₂ emissions, which amounts to a ban on internal combustion unless automakers can invest in synthetic fuels quickly.
“There is, at the moment, a natural ending in Europe,” he said. But other countries don’t face the same cliff. “In the US, 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.”
Schiebe acknowledged that Europe’s rules could change. That’s why Mercedes ensured the V-8 met stringent EU 7 emissions regulations.
“It wouldn’t make any sense to just develop it for the US. And if you develop a new V-8 at the moment, of course, it has to comply with EU 7, because it’s coming at the end of 2027 and 2028 so you have to fulfill the requirements.”
The new V-8 powertrain in development is rumored to be related to AMG’s existing 4.0-liter “hot vee” twin-turbo engine, potentially with a flat-plane crankshaft. We don’t know for sure yet which models it will make its way into, only that it won’t power the C63 anytime soon.