Bad quality first: The V8 epoch astatine Mercedes-AMG is officially over. The thunderous M177 4.0-liter twin-turbo eight-cylinder that’s powered each AMG 63-series musculus instrumentality since 2015 is not agelong for this earth. Here’s what volition regenerate it: A Formula 1-inspired hybrid drivetrain that marries the world’s astir almighty production-car four-cylinder (with an electrically-boosted turbocharger, nary less) to an electrical centrifugal driving the rear axle done a two-speed gearbox. In the 2024 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance, the archetypal AMG to athletics the all-new drivetrain, that means a maximum of 671 hp and a whopping 752 lb-ft of torque. Yeah, that’ll assistance america get implicit the nonaccomplishment of the V8.

The all-new C63 marks a full caller epoch astatine AMG, a institution that’s spent astir fractional a period turning Mercedes V8s into raucous tire-shredders. The ‘24 C63's enormously elaborate drivetrain starts from an awesome foundation: The M139L 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, archetypal developed by AMG for the Mercedes-AMG A45, CLA45 and GLA45. In those models, the tiny turbo motor was the astir almighty four-cylinder ever fitted to a accumulation vehicle, cranking retired 416 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. Now, acknowledgment to a nifty electrical turbocharger setup, this motor pumps retired adjacent much power: 469 hp astatine 6,750 rpm and 402 lb-ft from 5,000 to 5,500 rpm. That means the 1,991-cc M139L shatters its ain grounds arsenic the astir almighty accumulation four-cylinder successful history, pumping retired a hairsbreadth little than 235 hp per liter of displacement — oregon enactment different way, a interaction implicit 117 hp per cylinder.

That output comes courtesy of a recently enlarged turbo with electrical assist, meaning the turbo tin spool up connected electrical powerfulness earlier exhaust unit takes over, helping to destruct lag and make sharper response. This is the archetypal production-car exertion of this electrical turbocharger technology, which comes straight from today’s Formula 1 hybrid drivetrains and takes vantage of the caller C63's 400-volt electrical architecture.

Of course, the caller immense turbocharger isn’t the lone lawsuit of electrical powerfulness boost. The caller C63 has a 201-hp, 236 lb-ft electrical centrifugal driving the rear axle done a two-speed gearbox, assisting the gasoline motor during hard acceleration. With AMG Performance 4Matic+ all-wheel thrust with Drift Mode, the C63 puts a maximum of 671 hp and 752 lb-ft of torque to each 4 wheels, with the gasoline motor driving done AMG’s nine-speed automatic transmission with a bedewed clutch successful spot of a torque converter for snappier acceleration and cogwheel shifts.

Mercedes says the caller musculus sedan tin sprint from zero to 60 mph successful 3.3 seconds, and powerfulness from some the longitudinally-mounted state motor and the rear-axle electrical centrifugal tin beryllium shifted to the beforehand axle erstwhile the rear wheels slip. The two-speed gearbox that transmits the rear-axle motor’s torque shifts automatically based connected velocity and load; the little of the 2 ratios is bully for up to 87 mph. The centrifugal delivers 94 hp continuously, with the afloat 201 hp disposable successful 10-second bursts.

The 400-volt, 6.1-kWh, 196-lb, liquid-cooled lithium-ion artillery driving the axle centrifugal rests supra the rear axle for optimum value distribution. While the caller C63 is technically a plug-in hybrid, and tin scope speeds of up to 81 mph connected electrical powerfulness alone, Mercedes-AMG was speedy to constituent retired successful a property merchandise that “the artillery is designed for accelerated powerfulness transportation and gully alternatively than longest imaginable range.”

The caller C63 bears a passing resemblance to lesser C-class sedans, but benefits from a ton of AMG-specific changes. The wheelbase has been stretched by 0.4 inches, with the front-end bodywork lengthened by 2.2 inches. Overall, the caller C63 is simply a afloat 3 inches wider astatine the beforehand fenders and 3.3 inches longer nose-to-tail. The caller hybrid musculus sedan rides connected modular 19-inch staggered wheels and tires, with 20s optional.

The compact show sedan has modular rear-wheel steering, which makes the car much nimble successful choky turns and much unchangeable during high-speed road maneuvers, and rides connected Mercedes’ AMG Ride Control adaptive suspension with alloy springs. The caller C63 offers a whopping 8 thrust modes: Electric, Comfort, Battery Hold, Sport, Sport+, Race, Slippery and Individual, each of which tweaks the drivetrain output, steering, suspension and sound.

Because, yes, this is simply a four-cylinder hybrid, and that means AMG had to edifice to augmented drivetrain noises to regenerate the hammering rumble of that aged twin-turbo V8. A azygous loudspeaker successful the beforehand bumper and a two-speaker soundbar astatine the rear emanate informing noises erstwhile the C63 is driving successful axenic EV mode; erstwhile traveling nether internal-combustion power, the strategy picks up dependable from a unit sensor successful the exhaust strategy and “enrich[es] it further earlier it’s emitted successful the interior via the amusement dependable system, frankincense making it imaginable to acquisition the signature AMG sound.” The C63 has iron-rotor brakes with six-piston calipers up beforehand and single-piston calipers successful the rear, positive 4 levels of regenerative braking ranging from astir zero regen to afloat one-pedal driving.

Inside, it has screens and screens and ambient lighting and shiny trim and screens and screens.

Mercedes-AMG has not yet revealed erstwhile the caller C63 S E Performance volition spell connected sale, nor has the automaker disclosed the price. We volition surely larn each of that info earlier Mercedes invites journalists to thrust this conveyance for themselves.

We’ve known for awhile that Mercedes-AMG would beryllium heading successful this direction. Big V8s are going retired of vogue (even if the AMG 4.0-liter V8 wasn’t that large successful the expansive strategy of things). Some gearheads volition weep and gnash implicit this. But if the alternate is worldly similar this — a C-class with much horsepower and torque than ever before, with axenic plug-in EV driving capableness and F1-inspired turbo and hybrid tech — it feels a small silly crying implicit what’s gone to the past.