Why Mercedes Isn’t Bringing Back The AMG C63 V8

Mercedes has just facelifted the C-Class, but there’s some bad news for anyone hoping the update would somehow bring the roar of the V8 back to AMG’s sports sedan. It won’t. In fact, Mercedes is now making it clear that there’s no V8-powered C63 on the horizon, even though the company itself has decided the V8 isn’t quite ready to disappear. Talk about mixed signals.

Mercedes-Benz head of product management and global training Klaus Rehkugler told Australian magazine CarExpert the V8 will remain in production until at least 2035. That’s considerably longer than some of the more pessimistic predictions made when Mercedes started downsizing its combustion engines. The V8’s future looks surprisingly healthy. The C63’s future, not so much.

That’s because Mercedes has no plans to put the eight-cylinder engine into another C63. The outgoing C63 S E Performance uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder paired with a plug-in hybrid system, producing 671 horsepower and 752 lb-ft of torque in U.S. specification. On paper, those numbers are ridiculous for a compact sedan. The problem is that the C63 isn’t remembered for producing ridiculous numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s remembered for its thunderous V8.

Downsizing Backfired

For years, the AMG C63 was one of the few cars that could make a mundane commute feel like an event. The previous-generation W205 had a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, while the older W204 famously used a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8. The latter became one of the defining AMG engines of its era. Then Mercedes decided four cylinders were enough.

The current C63’s 2.0-liter engine is technically an engineering marvel. Combined output is enormous, and the electric motor provides instant shove while the plug-in hybrid system allows Mercedes to advertise both performance and efficiency. But it also added considerable weight and complexity. More importantly, it changed the C63’s character.

Mercedes-AMG has already acknowledged that the current formula won’t continue indefinitely. The C63 is being phased out, with the milder C53 expected to take its place as the performance-oriented C-Class. That car is likely to use a 3.0-liter inline-six rather than the C63’s four-cylinder plug-in hybrid setup, echoing how the GLC 63 has made way for the GLC 53. So where does that leave the V8? Well, apparently, everywhere above the C-Class.

‘It comes down to a question of ‘can you get the amortization back given the remaining lifecycle of the current C-Class?’ and the answer is ‘probably not.’

AMG is developing a new-generation V8 and has repeatedly indicated that combustion engines will remain part of its portfolio for years to come. The company has even softened its previous commitment to an all-electric future, acknowledging that demand for gasoline-powered vehicles isn’t disappearing as quickly as once expected.

Yet putting that V8 into the C-Class isn’t part of the plan. And that’s particularly frustrating because the timing would seem perfect.

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Source: Mercedes-Benz

Motor1’s Take: Mercedes deserves credit for keeping the V8 alive. In an industry that’s increasingly moving toward smaller engines and full electrification, knowing that the eight-cylinder will survive into at least the mid-2030s is genuinely good news. But the decision to keep the V8 away from the C63 is difficult to understand from an enthusiast’s perspective.

However, from a business perspective, it’s easy to see why the current-generation C-Class won’t get a V8. The mid-cycle update introduced this week leaves the car with roughly three to four years of shelf life, and Mercedes has presumably determined that it wouldn’t recoup the investment required to develop and certify a V8-powered version in such a short timeframe.

As for the next-generation C-Class getting an eight-cylinder AMG variant, it’s simply too soon to say.