Who Needs A V8? C63 S Brings Formula 1 to the Road
AMG’s bonkers electrified 2-liter 4-pot C63 S E-Performance defies logic.
Who needs a V8? Could not get that out of my mind for a good while after this, quite literally mind-bending experience. So much so that I defy anyone who has had so much to say about this car being inferior to its old bent eight predecessors, to actually drive one of these before you next make a fool of yourself with your Jurassic boloney.
See, every man and his dog has tossed his hat into the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance debate pit. How can they throw away the V8? How is it possible that I must step down to a four-cylinder? It will never be good enough, fast enough, bla di bla di blah
Well hear this, all ye naysayers. Mercedes-AMG’s new-generation C63 super saloon is a life changer. It moves the brand into a new realm as it quite controversially drops its traditional biturbo V8 for hybrid-charged four-cylinder power unit that’s ready to warp your mind. Both physically, under acceleration. And mentally, in your conscience.
C63 S E-Performance Adds Rocket Boost to A45 4-Pot
As one would expect, our latest C63 sampler has an edgy body kit, chunky AMG sports alloys framing monster red calliper disc brakes, signature AMG exhaust tips and special edition bits and bobs. Never mind a rather garish badge that may as well be a nuclear attack siren. Which is about where the familiarity ends. Our C63 is the first to benefit AMG’s radical new hybrid drivetrain in place of the accepted and much loved biturbo V8 This new one instead gets a wild new electrified turbo 2-liter M139 four-pot.
Which is where the argument starts. And this one’s probably even more vicious than the same revelation turning the Land Cruiser world on its head, as we reported just last week. You will know the 415 HP 365 lb.-ft petrol four-cylinder in non-electrified Mercedes-AMG A 45 S form. Developed from the outset to be swung longitudinal and accept hybrid electric boosting, it’s also now tuned up to 470 horses in this new C63. That not only squarely kicks the outgoing V8 into touch, but this is comfortably now the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever seen series production.
Best of all, the M139 is now coupled at the tote with that 201-horse electric motor on the rear axle. This endows Mercedes-AMG’s new P3 powertrain with a total of, 671 HP or almost 200 HP more than the V8 it replaces. Torque is also 50 Nm up on the outgoing V8 and 550 lb.-ft. All that despite of a 50% reduction in swept capacity and cylinder count.
C63 S E-Performance: Stronger, Quicker, Thriftier
The C63’s M139 engine additionally adopts a lag-free electric turbocharger and the bonus boost of an additional 30 HP 185Nm 48V integrated electric starter motor snuggled in the bell housing of its nine-speed torque-converter MCT Speedshift gearbox. The new 350 lbs. M139 four-cylinder weighs considerably less than the old M177 V8 to bring better, lower mass distribution, a much-improved center of gravity and better balance.
Just in case, the fully variable all-wheel drive next C63’s 4Matic system is able to deliver all of its power aft for pure rear-wheel-drive. The C63 also brings some really cool new logic to the table. It will know where you’re driving via Satnav data and adopt the entire drivetrain and chassis to the road that the car already understands via the cloud.
And if you are on a track, it will sense if you are on the circuit and quickly work out where and how to adapt its hybrid assistance to greatest effect. Yep, just like Hamilton and Russell in Formula 1, this AMG will optimally reap and deploy its output to suit its immediate environment. The battery also deploys and regenerates alarmingly quickly. Were we on track, we’d easily match F1’s lap of regen for the next lap of deployment.
S E-Performance: Worse than the old C63 V8?
But hey, how does it drive? What does it sound like? How quick is it? Surely, it’s nowhere near that V8? Sorry, pal, no chance!
Thumb the F1-like steering toggles to Mad… no, wait, it was Race! Now bear with me as we go into slow motion for a few seconds. Stomp on the gas and the brake together, hear the scream as the electronic turbocharger spins itself up to warp speed full boost over and above that strangled rat-a-tat-tat as the red bars flash across the brilliant big heads up. And let the brake go like we used to drop the clutch back in the day…
Oh! My! God! Taking it to super slo-mo, a hell of a lot happens all at once. Firstly, the seat belt grabs you as if you’re a thief trying to escape an eager policeman. The nose lifts the noise reaches a crescendo. All while your eyes press back in your sockets, you feel your brains splashing about and your body rams back into the seat.
The G is astounding as the nose lifts, and you sense it sending electric power wherever it can to support the petrol urge. All at the same time as the horizon attacks. Boom! 40 mph in 1.5 seconds. Bam! 60 in 3 seconds. Wham! seven to 100. And hello ma’am! The quarter-mile in eleven seconds at just this side of a hundred and twenty!
You record breaker, you!
That all but matches our all-time record 2.98 second run. Now the fastest Mercedes-AMG we have ever tested, the new C63 even beat the biturbo V8 E63 S across the board. What’s more, it does so at a tiny fraction of the fuel used, and in incredible style too.
Ah yes, of course, it must sound horrible. Sorry to disappoint you, sir, ma’am, but while it’s completely different to the glorious old V8, this hybrid four-pot has a soundtrack to die for. Kinda a mix between Luke Skywalker’s pod and one of Elon Musk’s rockets on blast-off. And probably just as quick
On the road, you can choose to waft along in (close to) Maybach style or comfort. Or play Darth Vader and drive the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance like a mad thing. It’s both super smooth when trundling about on electric power alone. And surprisingly well composed and balanced when pushing on. Doubt even Fangio or Senna would find it as easy as you want to make out, that this car’s weight kills its dynamic edge.
Future Is Here
Sure, it’s expensive. But that’s relative too. You must spend four times as much as this to find a supercar to come anywhere close to this level of performance. But getting back to the crux, is there any reason to cling on to that V8 dream? Well sentimentally, perhaps. But for every single data-driven decision, from its performance figures to its fuel consumption and driving range, the new one is a no brainer. Yes, it’s heavier. But its superbly sorted at that. And its considerably more expensive. But still a true performance bargain.
Of course, the whole V8 argument may very well be a moot point before we know it. E-fuels look increasingly likely to be the real green answer to our future return to even better V8s. But for now, this is the best solution. Is it a compromise? No, definitely not. It is rather an improvement. In just about every plausible way.
Which leaves us to conclude that there is no argument. The new Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E-Performance is the better car. In every measurable and perceivable way. So, get used to it. The future is here!
ROAD TESTED: Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance Engine: 671 HP 750 lb.-ft hybrid 2-litre turbo I4 Drive: 9-speed automatic AWD TESTED: 0-40 mph: 1.48 sec 0-60 mph: 3.09 sec 0-80 mph: 4.30 sec 0-100 mph: 7.03 sec ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 122 mph 50-75 mph: 2.12 sec 75-100 mph: 2.73 sec CLAIMED: VMax: 155 mph Fuel: 34 mpg Range: 500 miles LIST PRICE: $87,200*
Tested in South Africa, model due in US in 2025.
Photos: Lupini
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