Before Mercedes-AMG products were great to drive, they were great to listen to – the rumble of the V8 was an enthusiast’s balm for lackluster dynamics. When AMG started making great drivers’ cars almost 20 years ago, it improved its exhaust performance and then fueled the addiction with year-over-year sales increases. Now buyers can’t give up the drug: ever since AMG put a four-cylinder PHEV powertrain in the latest C 63 and E 63, compliments about both cars’ power and performance have been drowned in accusations of being overweight and under-emotional. Last August, we heard a rumor that Mercedes was considering returning the V8 to the AMG C 63 and E 63 variants. Two weeks later, the Mercedes-AMG CEO issued a personal challenge. However, it looks like the love child of both sedans, the AMG CLE 63, will get a V8 engine. It is word from Carwho claims to have obtained the information from “senior officials at the division’s parent company Mercedes-Benz.”
Several pieces of evidence appear to have influenced this verdict. First, AMG owners around the world voted with their wallets by refraining from purchasing the recent C 63 and E 63. Car reports that sales of the latest top-of-the-line AMG C and AMG E models are “significantly lower” than their V8 predecessors. Second, dealers allegedly told Mercedes that since the CLE 53 is powered by an inline-6 faint hybrid with 443 hp and 413 lb-ft, customers might be confused by the more powerful and more steep four-cylinder version. This sounds like the logic of desperation on the part of a dealer who will say anything to get you a V8, but it might work. To give this reasoning some context, the C-Class is powered by a four-cylinder engine in standard and AMG trim, the E-Class is equipped with a six-cylinder engine, whether it has a three-pointed star or the Affalterbach crest on the bonnet. Mercedes reportedly believes that the six in the AMG CLE 53 justifies putting a V8 engine in the AMG CLE 63.
Car claims the V8 mild-hybrid option will produce 585 horsepower, which is significantly less than the 670-hp four-cylinder PHEV powertrain. AMG clearly wants the CLE to be on par with the BMW M4 in customers’ minds; The 585-horsepower V8 would be a more appropriate AM-branded equivalent for the M4’s 542-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6.
The implication beyond CLE is that Mercedes may soften its stance on the AMG C 63 and AMG E 63. Car wrote that at last month’s Beijing Motor Show, “Markus Schäfer, Mercedes-Benz’s head of research and development, indicated that the company is closely monitoring sales of the C63 and GLC 63 amid calls for a return to the V8 engine.” …said Schäfer “It will be up to the customers to decide whether AMG will continue to develop a downsized petrol-electric engine.” The fight is not over.
