Mercedes-Benz recently launched an updated version of its flagship S-Class sedan. That car packs a fresh 4.0-liter V8 with a flat-plane crank setup, doling out as much as 503 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque in the S580. A flat-plane crank means less rotational mass and quicker revs, which helps equal more horsepower.
But while the engine might be suited for Benz duty first and foremost, the AMG side of the family wants to make sure it's up to snuff before shoving it into the pumped-up snouts of its own vehicles. That includes two models currently sorely missed from the Mercedes-AMG lineup: the C63 sedan and E63 wagon.
View Price on AmazonAccording to Road & Track, AMG engineers have been watching the engine's development closely as it rolls out in the new S-Class. According to Mathias Geisen, a board member with Mercedes, phase one of the return of proper AMG V8 engines has begun. "One step after the other," he says. "First we have to make sure we have a very nice and sophisticated V-8, and of course we now look into market demand and have some plans of where else to use it."
Those plans very likely include the return of the aforementioned AMG models. It's no secret that buyers never warmed to the four-cylinder C63. And the current E53 AMG is merely okay, while also possessing some of the worst brakes I've felt in any Mercedes product.
Mercedes-AMG buyers are eager for more V8-powered options. And it sounds like Mercedes will have such options soon enough. Motor1's Take: The E63 wagon can't get here soon enough. Audi has been doing great work evolving its RS6, while BMW has shown that a high-horsepower wagon can sell here in the US market.
A next-generation E63 wagon should boast V8 power, but will also likely feature a plug-in hybrid setup to meet both fuel economy and emissions demands as well as the high-horsepower wants of its customer base.
Source: motor1.com
