Mercedes-AMG GT, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG aim for beyond 400kW

MERCEDES-AMG chief Tobias Moers has confirmed to Wheels that the new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 for the GT supercar and new C63 sports sedan has plenty more to give.

Both the AMG GT supercar and the C63 S sedan are due in Australia in the first half of 2015. The AMG GT will have 350kW, while the C63 S gets a slightly more powerful 375kW version. Despite this, Mercedes-Benz says the $280K GT is the pinnacle of its performance hierarchy.

Neither is short on performance, and we can expect even more powerful versions of both in due course.

“The stress level of that engine is not that big,” Mercedes-AMG boss Tobias Moers told Wheels at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. So how much more stress could it take? “A little bit, yeah. More to come.”

Moers’ admission means there are sure to be 400kW-plus versions of the new M177/M178 engine.

The basics of these variants of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 are identical, according to Moers. But the M178 version in the AMG GT features a dry-sump lubrication system and a front engine plate to accommodate a pump for the sports car’s hydraulic steering system, neither of which is required for the C63's M177 version.

Mercedes-AMG’s new V8 needs its built-in power growth potential. The planned production life of the GT sports car will be “seven, eight years,” Moers confirms.

Incremental power increases are one obvious strategy for Mercedes-AMG to maintain customer interest in the car over such a period. But, while all-wheel-drive is technically feasible in the GT, it’s not part of Mercedes-AMG’s life-cycle management strategy for the model.

Moers is also keen for AMG to produce a successor to the GT, AMG's second bespoke model after the critically acclaimed SLS supercar.

“That’s for sure my plan,” the executive says of a second-generation GT. “This is AMG’s plan.”