Mercedes-AMG '63' EVs coming with new motor tech

Mercedes-Benz electric cars are about to get a lot faster thanks to a tech injection from the company’s Mercedes-AMG performance brand, allowing the legendary ‘63’ badge to be applied to its high-performance EVs for the first time.

Previously, the hotrod division of the German luxury giant had essentially said its EVs would be too heavy to wear the hallowed 63 badge, relegating them to the lesser ‘53’ moniker as seen on AMG’s first electric model, the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+.

Now, as Mercedes-AMG plans more high-performance EVs to take the fight to new performance models from rivals as diverse as Audi, BMW, Porsche and Tesla, it says bespoke electric car architectures and innovative new e-motor technology will provide enough of a performance boost to justify applying the 63 badge to future electric models after all.

“Yes, we will do 63s [EVs],” Mercedes-AMG project manager Jens Huser told carsales at last month’s global launch of the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, later laughing when describing the pace as enough to make you “just fall over”.

“It will be more than sufficient.”

Mercedes-AMG 63 models – from the C 63 to the S 63 and many in between – have in recent tears employed a twin-turbo petrol V8 powertrain producing a snarl as tasty as the power and torque reverberating from all eight cylinders.

All that will change starting with the new Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance super sedan, which ditches its big-bore V8 and rear-drive layout in favour of a four-cylinder plug-in hybrid all-wheel drive layout.

However, the first all-electric Mercedes-AMG 63 models will produce even less noise – but probably a lot more pace.

Whereas the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 sedan and EQE 53 SUV models already announced utilise modified versions of the electric motors used on other Mercedes-Benz EVs, the 63 models look set to get something a lot more special, at least on some models: axial flux motors.

In 2021 Mercedes-Benz purchased UK-based company Yasa, which supplies motors to Ferrari for its SF90 Stradale hybrid hypercar.

The axial flux motors are slimmer but have a larger diameter than the radial flux motors used in most EVs – and they’re all about big performance.

Huser said future high-performance AMG EVs will be very special, and admitted that axial flux motors will play a role in the German brand’s future.

“We need to meet and beat customer expectations,” he said, adding: “We need to bring [the AMG heritage] into the EV world.”

In line with traditional V8-powered AMGs, Huser said performance will be the number one goal.

“We will take the driving fun over efficiency,” he promised.

But AMG’s high-performance EV thinking extends beyond powertrains and permeates the structure of the car.

In 2021 Mercedes-Benz announced an all-new AMG-specific electrical architecture called AMG.EA, to be used on selected flagship models.

Set to debut in 2025, it will provide the foundations for a new level of performance, allowing AMG to maximise the dynamic potential of the new drivetrains. The platform is one of a number that Mercedes will introduce to electrify its line-up.

The AMG.EA platform looks set to incorporate unique battery and motor systems that are designed for higher outputs and faster charging. They could also use higher voltages than the Mercedes-Benz units, with the company cryptically adding that “if tech is available, you always pick the right one”.

However, it appears there will be control within the future AMG EV range. Whereas the AMG strategy to date has been to pretty much throw maximum grunt at the entire range – everything from the C-Class and GLE SUV to the G-Class off-roader and GLS seven-seater received the mighty V8 – the AMG powerhouse is showing early restraint with its EVs.

The EQS sedan range, for example, has only an AMG 53 model – the EQS 53 – which brings big performance to the table. The EQS 53 makes up to 560kW and 1020Nm – enough to launch the hefty sedan to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds.

It’s a similar story with the EQE sedan and EQE SUV, which also only get 53-badged AMG variants – albeit boasting up to 505kW and 1000Nm in the latter.

Clearly, the 63 versions will deliver even bigger performance outputs than those already big numbers.