Time's up for 6.2 AMG V8

AMG has all but confirmed its version of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz C-class due in 2014 will ditch the legendary 6.2-litre M156 engine in favour of a downsized turbo V8.

The smart money is on a new 4.0-litre twin-turbo that will be shared with the SLS-based ‘911 fighter’ codenamed C190, while also upping power and torque outputs and improving fuel economy compared to the current C 63.

Outgoing AMG CEO Ola Kallenius made the future of the C 63 quite clear at media roundtable at this week’s Frankfurt motor show.

In a wide-ranging interview he also confirmed the plan for a hi-po version of the new GLA compact SUV using the same 2.0-litre turbo engine and all-wheel drive 4MATIC running gear as the A 45 and CLA 45 AMGs.

Kallenius, who moves to Mercedes-Benz in October to take over the global sales job from the retiring Joachim Schmidt, has overseen a dramatic rise in AMG sales via an expanded product portfolio.

That is intended to continue through the company’s 50th anniversary in 2017, when it plans to have at least 30 models compared to the current 24 and more than 30,000 sales per annum.

The downsizing in engine capacity of the AMG version of the W205 C-Class – the standard sedan will beak cover at the Detroit auto show next January – will follow the example already set by numerous other models in the range, including the E 63 AMG, which swapped from the M156 to the M157 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8.

The downsizing process is driven by the need to hit ever more stringent fuel economy and emissions standards, especially in Europe and North America.

“I have watched that movie with other actors -- E 63, CLS 63 and S 63,” Kallenius replied when asked if he feared for the success a downsized turbo C 63 AMG.

“Then we didn’t lose audience we gained audience. It gets back to how responsive the turbo engine is and the sound of it.

“When an E 63 with a 5.5 biturbo drives by you almost cannot detect the difference between that and the 6.2. So I think when you also have a torque advantage with the turbo engine – and AMG also stands for torque – then I think we are going to be in pretty good shape.”

The 4.0-litre engine in the next-gen AMG C-Class is expected to offer 360kW as a baseline, growing beyond 400kW in a Black Series variant. By comparison, the current car has a 336kW baseline, although in Australia Mercedes-Benz is offering a 373kW Edition 507 version as the run-out model.

Natural aspiration is not dead at AMG as Kallenius made it clear the M152 5.5-liitre in the SLK has a role beyond 2016, as does the M156-powered SLS AMG, albeit not for long.

Another niche engine, the 6.0-litre biturbo V12 M275, also has a future Kallenius said: “It will be with us for several years to come… we have no plans to drop the V12. It is its own exclusive segment.”

Kallenius made it clear he expects the 2014 GLA 45 AMG, which share sits MFA architecture with the A-, B- and CLA-Class, to be an important sales performer for AMG, reflecting both its anticipated price well under $100,00 and the importance SUVs have in the company’s overall demand.

“I am sure it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out we will give the GLA the same treatment as the A 45 AMG and the CLA 45 AMG,” he said. “The performance SUV is now 40 per cent of the entire segment, it is unbelievable… the GLA rounds out our portfolio so I think it will be a winner.”

Intriguingly, Kallenius played down the notion that the second-generation GLK medium SUV – which will be based on the same MRA architecture as the new C-Class – will get the AMG treatment.

“What the future brings we shall see. We have not made a decision in any direction… whether there is space in between the GLA and the ML on the performance side or not we don’t know.”

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