Yep, you read that right.
In an alarming departure from the AMG norm, the new C63 S does not have a V8 engine. We’re not going to lie, this feels vaguely sacrilegious given the AMG brand is synonymous with enormous eight-cylinder power – and an equally enormous eight-cylinder soundtrack.
Why? Because while electrification is coming, AMG isn’t yet ready to build a C63 without an engine. So, instead, it’s built this, the part-electric C63 S Turbo E Performance.
Turbo E Performance is AMG speak for ‘fast plug-in hybrid’, and Mercedes would be delighted if you started to think of this new C63 S not as a normal sports saloon but as a C-Class stuffed with F1 and AMG One hybrid hypercar technology.
It certainly warrants the ‘Performance’ tag. Power may now come courtesy of a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor, rather than a twin-turbo V8, but there’s plenty of it. The new C63 S is good for 671bhp and a massive 752lb ft of torque. With all-wheel drive traction, that’s enough grunt to go 0-62mph in 3.4sec and hit 174mph.
Need some points of reference? The equivalent BMW M car, the M3, musters just 503bhp. Even the bigger, more expensive M5 Competition can ‘only’ manage 617bhp and 553lb ft.
All that performance comes courtesy of a high-tuned four-cylinder engine in the nose, a small (6.1kWh) but punchy battery under the boot floor and a 201bhp electric motor on the rear axle. And if that sounds like a heavyweight solution, well, that’s because it is.
While the additional weight of the battery and electric motor is at least partially offset by the move from a big V8 to a relatively modest inline four, the C63’s structure has also been heavily modified. The engine bay is longer than that of a standard C-Class, as is the wheelbase, so there’s additional structural bracing in strategic points. The front track is also wider, to benefit handling.
You would, perhaps, be moved to forgive the new C63 S’s massive complexity and kerb weight were it capable of miles and miles of electric-only travel. An AMG that starts without the thunder of a V8 might sound weird but the world is changing, and already supercars like the Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren Artura have proved that 20 or so miles of near-silent, neighbour-friendly electric range is actually a very handy thing. Having an electric motor around also helps eliminate turbo lag, for an instant throttle response.
Unfortunately, clever though the AMG’s battery undoubtedly is (it’s heavily liquid-cooled, so the hybrid system can work it hard without it overheating), it’s so small that the C63 S can only manage around 8 miles before the four-cylinder engine must fire up.
AMG is desperate to make hybrid technology sexy, and to build a clear link between its fast part-electric road cars and its F1 programme. But, on paper at least, the new C63 S doesn’t look like progress. Perhaps it’ll make sense when we drive it.
Mercedes-AMG C63 S: £90k (est), 671bhp four-cylinder hybrid, 3.4sec 0-62mph, 174mph