AMG to debut eco tweaks and DSG at Geneva

Shock, horror! AMG is going green. Yep, the same company that sells every supercharged V8 G-wagen it can bolt together and recently shoehorned a 6.2-litre into a C-Class to create its very own 'mass market' model is facing up to environmental responsibilities. In doing so, it will announce a number of still top secret initiatives at March's Geneva Motor Show.

The surprising news came from AMG boss, Volker Mornhinweg (pictured), in an interview with the Carsales Network and other Australian media at last week's North American International Motor Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Questioned on AMG's need to address the environmental concerns of its customers, Mornhinweg earmarked Geneva as a milestone in the performance arm's operation. Speaking directly of the initiatives, he said: "In detail, I will tell to you at Geneva. We are preparing a lot of stuff, especially for Geneva."

Mornhinweg explained customer feedback prompted the moves.

"We started about two and half years ago to talk about environmental responsibility. Our best market is California, so I said to our guys, if these sorts of signals are coming up in our most important market we have to take notice.

"So it was at that time we started to make the first decisions technology wise to lock down the development we needed to have the right level of fuel consumption in the future."

Mornhinweg would not be drawn on the technology the company will employ. AMG has in the past offered a diesel model, although many pundits and betting on the maker heading the hybrid route.

"Diesel is an opportunity -- we had one in the past.

"With hybrid there are pro and cons at the end of the day but when you talk about a car with zero emissions for some period of the [operational] phases, then hybrid is a good idea. With hybrid you have the opportunity in the future of zero emissions for a short period of time."

In the same interview, Mornhinweg contended AMG would not necessarily develop bespoke powerplants going forward. This clears the way for more alternative drivetrain options directly from parent company, Mercedes-Benz.

New announcements notwithstanding, the AMG boss was keen to defend his high-powered stable's current credentials.

"I have to say currently in our competitive environment -- Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari, high-level Porsches, the M cars and others from Audi -- that we are best-in-class regarding fuel consumption and CO2 levels.

"We are currently at the top and with our Geneva announcements we will reduce these [CO2 emissions] even further."

Mornhinweg would not be drawn on his fuel economy and CO2 emission aims. He did however rule out heading the ethanol/biofuel route.

"We will not do what Ferrari has done [with biofuel F430]," he said.

Geneva will also see AMG debut new gearbox technology. With BMW recently confirming it has moved to a twin-clutch gearbox for versions of its latest V8-engined M3, the Affalterbach arm of the Daimler corporation is expected to follow suit.

Mornhinweg would not be drawn on details but opined the company's updated version of the 7G-TRONIC automatic gearbox in the new C63 had silenced many critics calls for AMG to offer a conventional manual gearbox.

 » Get the best price on a new Mercedes-Benz

To comment on this article click here