Mercedes’ AMG monsters are famously known for their massive engines that propel the German muscle with an ungodly amount of torque, severely punishing the rear tires to oblivion. The famous “6.3” badge worn by their top-of-the-line cars like the SLS AMG gives it the capability to leave anyone behind in just a blink of an eye. But somehow in the near future, we might not be able to see any of the “6.3”-ers anymore as Mercedes is reportedly developing a smaller 4.0-liter V8 unit.
Autocar reports that this new engine destined for the future AMG models is a further development of the new turbocharged 2.0-liter that will sit in Mercedes’ future compact car range like the upcoming A45 AMG and the CLA45 AMG. While 2.0-liter might sound small, it will be able to deliver around 330-horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque for these compact cars to play with.
But worry not, similar to BMW’s M5 losing their V10 and getting a twin-turbo V8 as a replacement, this new engine will also be force-fed by a turbocharger. The turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 will have a power output in the range of 450-horsepower, and could be tuned to pump out a massive 150 more.
This new engine will replace the current naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter V8 in the SLK55, and is lined up to power the 2015 C63 AMG. But if it is a 4.0 powering the C63, should it not be called the C40 instead?
