Mercedes-Benz promises V8s will 'stay forever'

A dim view of ever-increasing emissions regulations and autonomous cars is often taken by the car enthusiast, but Mercedes-Benz's most senior research and development executive says its iconic V8 will never die.

In an interview with Australian journalists at the Mercedes-Benz GLC launch in Germany this week, the German car-maker's R&D chief Prof Dr Thomas Weber answered motoring.com.au's question with little hesitation: "We are completely convinced we will stay forever with V8s".

Petrol-heads and the AMG faithful alike will be stoked to hear the news, which comes despite impending 2020 emissions regulations that will force car-makers to adopt new techniques to reduce fleet-average tailpipe CO2 outputs to just 95g/km.

However, to clear those hurdles, Dr Weber said the company's V8s will continue to downsize in displacement – like AMG's latest twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, which replaces the brand's 5.5-litre biturbo and 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8s – and grow larger turbos.

"The style will be different, the displacement different. [We will see] bigger turbos and how small can you go with V8? I don't know yet," he said.

So while the German V8 will survive into the future, Dr Weber said it will have to evolve -- potentially radically – via measures such as cylinder deactivation and electric harvesting and 'boosting' a la modern F1 race cars, but the weight penalty of plug-in hybrid technology is not so high on the agenda.

"Maybe the key question is electrification. Plug-ins in the high-performance field? Will the AMG customer will go for these technologies? For plug-ins you add weight. Maybe we will look to Formula One and this type of electrification?" he posited.

"There is room for something which is more leaning to boost and energy harvesting and a role model could be the F1 story. It's a little bit different than the hybrid concept."

The high-ranking Mercedes-Benz executive also pointed out that the popularity of its high-performance four-cylinder engines will "steadily grow", but stated "there is still enough room for V8s and V6s".

As the development of performance engines increasingly relies on forced-induction and electrification, Weber conceded – somewhat forlornly – that the "naturally aspirated [engine] is gone".

His advice? Get your hands on a traditional big-bore V8 before they disappear forever.

"But 6.3-litres? Now you should as fast as possible buy one!"

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