You won’t have to look far to find fans of the Mercedes-Benz V8, nor will you need to try particularly hard to find outrage when it comes to the latest C63 AMG. That car traded its lauded biturbo eight-cylinder for a tiny electrified four-cylinder, and it’s going about as well as expected. Now, the brand’s focus is “leaner, faster and stronger,” with renewed focus on an electrified V8 engine and continued V12 offerings.
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New V8 engines will return in the AMG.EA platform
The Mercedes press release is light on details, so no specific displacement or performance data yet. However, the German automaker assures a “strategic evolution of its portfolio,” which includes an “electrified V8.” Mercedes will offer the engine alongside EV models that will seemingly share the AMG.EA platform. If you don’t know what that is, you’re not alone. The cars are still under wraps.
Mercedes-Benz
What we do know is that the first of the AMG.EA cars will be a four-door coupe dubbed the CLE 63 that will likely run adjacent to, rather than replace, the current AMG GT63. The second will be a performance SUV. We will also see the hybridized, 4.0-liter biturbo V8 already under the hood of some current offerings, like the AMG S63 and SL 63. Chances are that the new mill is likely to draw heavily on the existing power plant.
Mercedes-Benz
None of that guarantees the V8 will return to the C63 that sorely misses it, but sources have confirmed a revised V8-powered C63 will arrive sometime in 2026. And, of course, you have to further consider that even in Mercedes’s backyard, they’ve had to offer significant discounts to move units. The V8 was a staple in these cars, and the sales data, or lack thereof, speaks volumes.
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Mercedes will continue to offer a V12 “in select markets”
BMW sent off their V12 years ago with a special edition 7 Series. While less ceremonial, Audi’s last twelve-cylinder has also been gone from the US market since 2017. Incredibly, Mercedes seems set on offering the V12 even though its rivals are out of the game. Perhaps, more likely, exclusively because of that reason.
“In select markets, 12-cylinder engines will continue to be offered,” Mercedes’s press release reads.
Mercedes-Benz
Usually “in select markets” translates to the US getting zilch, but not today. The V12 is available in the US and Europe, but only in exclusive Maybach models – namely, the S680. Perhaps Mercedes learned from their C63 mistake and decided not to upset arguably some of their most loyal and well-heeled customers. Don’t expect it to show up everywhere, but at least the V12 lives to fight another day.
Final thoughts
Hey, nobody’s perfect. We enthusiasts are all too willing to forgive and forget when an engine as glorious as the AMG V8 is on the table. While Mercedes is mum on specifics, we expect the new V8 to be pretty similar to the existing 4.0-liter biturbo. That is excellent news, because it means we’ll soon be able to stop wincing every time a late-model C63 drives by. However rare that may be.
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