Surprise: AMG boss Michael Schiebe has told US magazine Car and Driver that Mercedes is working on a new V8 engine.
Forced electrification hasn’t delivered the expected results at the AMG division, in particular the PHEV system based on the four-cylinder engine in the AMG C 63 and AMG GLC 63 that replaced the V8-powered versions in the current generation. AMG boss Michael Schiebe said in an interview with the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that the PHEV system is not the problem but the 4-cylinder engine because Mercedes has no sales problems with AMG PHEV models based on 6- or 8-cylinder engines.
Recently, Michael Schiebe confirmed to the American magazine that AMG will continue to build V8 engines and what’s more, AMG is in the middle of a development cycle for a new V8 engine. Schiebe also added that the new V8 is destined for both the existing model portfolio, but probably also for other models where the new V8 would make sense.
Meanwhile, a Mercedes-AMG spokesperson confirmed to the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that AMG will “continue to develop the V8 for the future and keep it up to date with current legal requirements”.
This obviously means that AMG’s new V8 will meet the new Euro 7 regulations, and as these rules are the last regulations before the switch to 100% electric models in Europe on January 1, 2035, the new engine will remain in service for many years to come.
At the moment, the current M177 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged M177 engine is used in several AMG models, such as the AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic, AMG GLS 63 4Matic, and AMG G 63, in combination with a 48V mild hybrid system with a small 22 PS electric motor (20 PS in AMG G 63).
The same AMG V8 engine is also found in the AMG S 63 E Performance, AMG GT 63 S E Performance coupe and 4-door coupe, and the AMG SL 63 S E Performance, in combination with the P3 PHEV system, in which a 204 PS electric motor drives the rear axle.
Recently, a rumor surfaced that the upcoming Mercedes-AMG CLE 63 will have the same AMG V8 engine with a mild hybrid system. However, Mercedes has not confirmed anything official so far.
There have been speculations that after the facelift the Mercedes-AMG C 63 and AMG GLC 63 will ditch the 4-cylinder used in the P3 Hybrid system and revert back to the V8 from the previous generation. But Mercedes officials said that the current V8 no longer fits under the hood of the current-generation C-Class W206 so we can at best consider using an inline 6-cylinder engine like the PHEV system in the new Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid.
Schiebe also said he can’t estimate when the V8 engine will retired. He told US magazine Car and Driver that this depends “by market conditions and requirements”.
In addition, he noted that it has not yet been decided how long production of the AMG GT 4-door coupe will continue. “Maybe there will be a successor, but I don’t want to speculate about that,” Schiebe said.