The rumor mill continues to turn, as reports from Germany citing unnamed sources in Affalterbach suggest that the V8 engine will not make its triumphant return to the Mercedes-AMG C63 or E63, contradicting a previous report, which also cited unnamed sources, saying that it would.
The initial report came from Car and Driver which, to its credit, cited multiple, albeit all unnamed, sources. It goes something like this: AMG’s decision to drop the V8 in favor of a PHEV I4 in the C63, and a PHEV I6 in the E63, is leading it to lose customer to its Teutonic nemeses, BMW and Audi.
In order to fight back against its competitors, it will employ the old adage, that there is no replacement for displacement. To wit, Mercedes will imbue its high-power sedans with a 4.0-liter hybrid V8 by 2026.
Read: Mercedes-AMG V8 Could Return To The C63 And E63 By 2026
The engine is already being modified to meet EU7 emissions standards in Europe, so that takes care of any regulatory issues, and the powertrain will be able to fit into the engine bay with only minor modifications, “senior engineers” are cited by the magazine as saying.
In response to the report, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport decided to ask its own internal sources to see if it could confirm the rumor. Unfortunately, it could not.
One AMG employee familiar with product development is quoted by the outlet as saying that the C&D report is “pure nonsense”. This (unnamed) source claims that the C63 and E63 powertrain plans have not changed, and no V8 is coming.
We have reached out to Mercedes to see if we can clear any of this up with an official response, but have so far not received any. We’ll be sure to let you know what’s going as soon we can.
