Mercedes-AMG will keep its V8 as long as possible

CEO Says V8 Will Stick Around As Long As Customers Want

Mercedes-AMG just unveiled the AMG GT XX concept, a 1,341-horsepower preview of the performance division’s first dedicated EV. But AMG has no plans to give up on its signature V-8 engines.

In an interview with Motor1, AMG CEO Michael Schiebe said the Mercedes sub-brand’s next V8 will arrive in 2027, and that—despite the emissions-related push for electrification—there’s not firm date for when it will be retired.

“Since we are just in the development of a new V8, there is not a natural end date that we have defined,” Schiebe said. “We keep on going as long as we see that there is customer demand, and especially, you know, when it comes to the U.S., for example, we see that there are still customers that just want the V8, a pure V8. And so this is why we are investing in the technology.”

Regulatory picture unclear

While current European Union rules put the bloc on a path to ending sales of new internal-combustion cars by 2035 (unless synthetic fuels enter widespread use), the V8 could live on past that point outside AMG’s home market, Schiebe noted.

“There is, at the moment, a natural ending in Europe,” the AMG CEO said, adding that this isn’t the case right now for other markets. “In the U.S., in the overseas market, where there is no certain end date, I’m pretty confident that we will carry them a couple of years, beginning of the [20]30s, middle of the [20]30s.”

For now, the next-generation AMG V8 is being engineered to comply with the Euro 7 emissions rules that will be in place when it arrives. These will be the last round of EU emissions rules before 2035, when stricter rules will call for new cars to have zero carbon-dioxide emissions. Synthetic fuels have been discussed as a workaround to this, but given the difficulty in scaling them up at affordable prices, a change in the rules may be the only way to keep AMG V8s alive in their home market past the middle of next decade.

Hybrids Likely Key

AMG is already leaning on plug-in hybrids as a compromise between stricter emissions rules and performance. The current iterations of the AMG C63 sedan and GLC63 crossover ditched their V8s for turbocharged four-cylinder engines fortified by plug-in hybrid systems. They may not have the delightful soundtrack of their predecessors, but these AMG models’ 671 hp is nothing to sneer at.

A similar plug-in hybrid system is coupled to AMG’s current 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in the S63 SL63, and GT63, increasing performance while keeping engine displacement in check. And the AMG E53 offers an EPA-rated 43 miles of electric range but can still accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds.

Vehicles like these could continue to play an important role at AMG. Ola Källenius, CEO of parent Mercedes-Benz, recently said the hybrid version of the redesigned CLA-Class compact would continue longer than expected due to fluctuating demand for EVs. The CLA launches with Mercedes’ latest electric-powertrain tech, but the automaker is still hedging its bets with the hybrid version. It wouldn’t be surprising for AMG to do the same.