AMG fettling new inline Benz six

It's no secret that Mercedes-Benz is ditching V6 engines in favour of more efficient inline six-cylinder mills, starting with a diesel for the S-Class.

But now the German car-maker's AMG hot-shop has confirmed it's working its go-fast magic on the new engine, widely expected to be a 3.0-litre biturbo petrol unit.

Considering AMG is reliably extracting 280kW from its 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder turbo engine, there's every chance an AMG-tuned 3.0-litre inline six could belt out 350kW.

That would be considerably more than the 270kW offered by AMG's current 43-badged 3.0-litre biturbo V6, but still less than the 430kW peak achieved by AMG's biturbo 4.0-litre V8 (pictured) in the potent new "road-legal race car", the Mercedes-AMG GT R.

Asked by motoring.com.au at the launch of the GT R at Goowood whether he and his considerable team of powertrain engineers were working on Mercedes-Benz's new inline six, AMG boss Tobias Moers was, as usual, unequivocal.

"We are working on it," he confirmed.

But don't expect the biggest and baddest AMGs to be packing six-cylinders any time soon.

"We still believe in the V8 engine. We find different ways to work with the V8 engine," added Moers, hinting at the mooted electrification of that engine, and also its continuing place at the top of the AMG tree.

The new inline six-cylinder engine could also form the basis of a beefy new replacement for AMG's 6.0-litre V12 down the track -- an engine that's expected to benefit from electrification to increase efficiency.

It's the V12 engine that has F1 driver Lewis Hamilton chomping at the bit. He told us at last weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed that it's his first choice of engine to drop into a personally-developed 'LH Series' Mercedes-AMG in future.

"V12 is my favourite engine. One day I want to do a car with a V12 engine," said Hamilton at the event.