Mercedes-AMG’s long-awaited V8 renaissance is taking shape, and not merely in the form of rumors anymore. In fact, the performance brand’s boss says we’ll see some actual products bearing the engines before 2026 draws to a close.
“At the end of the year, you’ll see the V8 coming back to AMG,” AMG CEO Michael Scheibe told Car Magazine. “We will launch it again with SUVs, but other cars will get it too.”
Schiebe also said that AMG 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,” and that the goal is to be, well, “more AMG than ever before.”
This will they/won’t they saga involving larger gas-burning engines within Mercedes’ performance arm has been raging for quite some time, as fans know. The last nail in the coffin, for many, seemed to be the four-cylinder C63 AMG, which infamously gave up its trusty 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 for half the displacement and electric assistance. It still made gobs of power, of course, but a certain spirit was lost.
Oh—and it was heavy. Remarking on the weight penalty of a sophisticated hybrid powertrain, Scheibe said, “If you want to have a lightweight car, sometimes it’s best to have a V8-only car.” No disagreement here, boss.
The C63’s plug-in hybrid powertrain is being put out to pasture, to be replaced by a straight-six like the one in the new GLC53. As for the V8, it’s expected to be derived from the M177 Evo engine in the new S-Class, which uses a flat-plane crank. Scheibe says we’ll see it first in SUVs and, considering the normie GLE and GLS are also beneficiaries of that engineering, their AMG cousins seem like obvious landing spots.
After that will come the coupes and sedans, and the company has been dropping some hints on that front, as well. Mercedes’ U.S. CEO Adam Chamberlain laid the groundwork for a V8-powered CLE to Edmunds just weeks ago.
Despite the disdain many have for AMG’s plug-in hybrid offerings, they won’t be disappearing entirely. Scheibe said that the GLE53 and E53 in particular will stick around in markets with strict emissions requirements, where they make sense. And there will eventually be an all-electric AMG GT four-door, hopefully channeling the stunning design of the orange GT-XX concept from last year. However you prefer to go fast, it seems AMG intends to have a product for you.
Got a tip? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com
www.thedrive.com
#MercedesAMG #V8s #Year
