Mercedes-Benz Says Next-Gen Electrified Performance Cars Must Be ‘AMG First’
Mercedes-AMG head honcho Michael Schiebe said that the brand’s upcoming EVs must be ‘AMG first and an EV second.’
Mercedes-Benz is putting serious effort into electrification. Part of that high-voltage push is the upcoming AMG.EA electric vehicle platform. The architecture will serve as the underpinnings for two Mercedes-AMG performance models starting next year. First, a sports sedan, then a performance-oriented SUV.
Car & Driver spoke to Mercedes-AMG head Michael Schiebe about the upcoming performance EV platform, and the news sounds good. At least at this stage of development. “We said when we come to the market with our first high-performance electric car, it needs to be a real high-performance car,” Schiebe said to the publication at the Miami Grand Prix. “I always say it needs to be an AMG first and an EV second.”
That’s good news for the AMG faithful who would sooner see cars cease to exist than AMGs lose their tire-roasting lunacy. However, the details are a bit thin as of now. The AMG.EA will incorporate lightweight axial-flux electric motors in place of more traditional radial units.
It will also work in high-voltage battery architecture to facilitate rapid charging. But other than that, the AMG.EA remains a mystery. Fortunately, though, Schiebe mentioned that the upcoming EVs won’t be “comparable to all the electric cars that you have on the market right now.” Big words. Only time will tell.
Mercedes-AMG V8 to Survive the Brand’s Ongoing Evolution
The Mercedes-AMG boss’s good news kept coming. Like the Mazda MX-5’s manual transmission and the immortal words of the Bee Gees, the AMG V8 will stay alive. Schiebe reportedly claimed that the lack of a nationwide US mandate to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars hasn’t put a squeeze on the V8’s projected lifespan.
“We are in the midst of developing our next generation of the V8,” Schiebe said. A Mercedes-AMG investor meeting confirmed that the V8 would survive for another generation earlier this year. But it’s unclear whether a non-hybridized version of an AMG V8 will be part of the equation. Although Schiebe seems optimistic. “I don’t say that we necessarily need to go that far on hybridization.”
It’s more good news for fans of the AMG V8 biturbo engines, like that in the circuit-hungry 603-horsepower GT63 Pro. Better yet, Schiebe credits AMG’s faithful consumers for the V8’s survival. “We see there is still the demand, and my target is to fill customers’ dreams.” Bring on the next-gen V8s.
Photos: Mercedes-AMG
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