Next-gen C63e S will still be a performance hero, even without the V8

Just the facts. The next generation Mercedes-AMG C63e S will do away with the V8 engine layout that has powered every C-Class flagship since the 2005 W203 C55. In its place comes a four-cylinder engine directing drive to all four wheels. The king is dead.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the new hybrid-powered C63e S could be the world’s most capable four-door sedan. If it meets the purported 480kW figure, it’d be a massive 105kW up on the outgoing V8 model. Put another way, that’s 16 years of evolution in one fell swoop, the 2005 C55 being 105kW down on the outgoing W205 C63 S.

The M139 engine that will power the C63e S will be familiar to many, as it currently sees service in the A45 S. For the C-Class, it’s rotated to a longitudinal position and tuned to 350kW. This is assisted by a fiendishly clever F1-style lag-free turbocharger with an inbuilt 6kW e-motor similar to the one fitted to the AMG One hypercar.

A nine-speed wet-clutch MCT gearbox delivers power from the ICE engine to all four wheels, while the rear axle features an electronically locking diff and 150kW/320Nm electric motor. This can spin to 13,500rpm and utilises a two-speed transmission, the higher gear kicking in at 140km/h.

This motor is powered by high-tech 6.1kWh lithium-ion batteries that are liquid cooled and offer double the power density of conventional hybrid batteries. AMG hasn’t revealed the plug-in’s electric-only range, but Affalterbach has prioritised performance over range in this instance, with pure EV mode available right up to 130km/h.

"The hybrid-powered C 63e S could be the world’s most capable four-door sedan"

Four stages of brake recuperation are offered, with the most aggressive version offering true one-pedal driving and scavenging a massive 90kW. Six drive modes (Electric, Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus, Race and Individual) are offered, as well as torque vectoring on both axles and brake-by-wire tech. It’s likely that a rear-drive only drift mode will be packaged.

Expect a low three-second 0-100km/h sprint although it hasn’t been announced quite how much combined system output the higher-power C63e S that is destined for the Aussie market will generate. The potential is there for up to 500kW and 900Nm but AMG may state around 420KW/800Nm. While the C63e S might not be as quick off the line as some of the most potent pure EVs, its combination of range and handling is likely to provide a cross-country riposte that will be hard to answer.

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MOTOR artist's impression

As with the rest of the W206 C-Class range, the C63e gets supersized, with overall length increasing by 65mm, wheelbase teasing out by 25mm and width increasing by 10mm, offering more space in the range below for the four-door models spun off the A-Class chassis.

The cabin gets a spruce up with a 26cm screen for the main dials and a central 24.1cm portrait touchscreen along with the new S-Class steering wheel trimmed in Dinamica microfibre. Don’t list your current C63 for sale just yet though. Australian deliveries of the C63e S won’t appear until Q1 2023, with V8 Coupe production continuing for the foreseeable future.

Whether the new four-cylinder W206 can convince a generation of buyers who have grown to love V8-powered C-Class AMGs remains to be seen, but with Audi and BMW having abandoned eight-cylinder engines in this niche, Mercedes always looked likely to follow suit. Perhaps the best way to frame the change to a downsized engine is to ask whether the A45 S would be a better car with a less powerful V8 engine shoehorned into its nose.

If you really can’t do without a bent eight, AMG offers that too, albeit at a price. All of the electric rear end of the C63e S is mated to the M177 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and the world’s clumsiest badge. The Mercedes-AMG GT73e 4MATIC EQ Power+ 4-Door Coupe, arrives at the start of 2022. All 600kW and 1000Nm of it.