Rumors claiming that Mercedes-AMG’s C 63 and E 63 would again offer a V8 later in the 2020s emerged in August 2023. We’ve got some bad news if you’ve started saving up: one of the company’s top executives confirmed that an eight-cylinder engine is not coming back.
Michael Schiebe, Mercedes-AMG’s CEO, “definitively” denied the report in an interview with The Drive. That means the four-cylinder hybrid system that powers the latest generation of the C 63 (and that replaced the outgoing car’s raucous 4.0-liter V8) is here to stay. As for the E 63, the next-generation model hasn’t been presented yet but it’s widely believed to receive a hybrid system built around a straight-six engine.
“I don’t like to talk about other manufacturers, but it seems like there are many more performance hybrids coming to the market now. Or, at least they’ve been announced. So, I think we were right when we said ‘let’s go in that direction,'” he added.
While he raises a good point, going hybrid doesn’t necessarily require using a downsized engine. The next-generation BMW M5 (which will be available as a sedan and as a Touring-branded wagon) hasn’t been unveiled yet, but unverified rumors claim it will use a hybrid system built around a twin-turbocharged, 4.4-liter V8. The drivetrain’s output will check in at about 718 horsepower, according to the same report.
The previous report credited two anonymous and independent AMG employees as the source. It added that the hot-rodded C-Class and E-Class were in line to receive a version of the twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 (called M177 internally) currently found in AMG’s GT 63 and S 63, among other cars, though the engine would have been modified to comply with the upcoming Euro 7 round of emissions regulations. While neither car was designed with an eight-cylinder in mind, making one fit would have reportedly required only “minor bodywork changes.”
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