X

Mercedes' next C63 will be a hybrid, says AMG boss

Tobias Moers, CEO of AMG, told CarAdvice that the next generation of C63 models will be performance hybrids.

Kyle Hyatt Former news and features editor
Kyle Hyatt (he/him/his) hails originally from the Pacific Northwest, but has long called Los Angeles home. He's had a lifelong obsession with cars and motorcycles (both old and new).
Kyle Hyatt
Andrew Krok/Roadshow

For a long time, the AMG recipe for success consisted of taking the biggest motor that would fit in a given Mercedes-Benz, increasing its displacement and/or adding forced inductions -- then turning it loose on the world to do great big smokey burnouts.

Things are a little different now. The big, turbocharged V12 and the 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 have given way to the 4.0-liter twin turbo V8, and soon, according to AMG boss Tobias Moers, we'll see hybrid drivetrains entering the picture.

Not that we're complaining or anything. The M177/M178 is a real peach of an engine but when it comes to AMG, more power is always better, and a performance hybrid system would certainly fit that bill.

2019 Mercedes-AMG C63
Enlarge Image
2019 Mercedes-AMG C63

Despite getting thousands of new parts, the new C63 featured an unchanged drivetrain.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

"I think the formula is perfect for now, but for sure we need to have a close look at viable alternatives, because we have to be creative and I'm chasing performance, and that's not strictly linked to the number of cylinders," said Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, speaking with CarAdvice at the New York auto show . "Which means for sure the next-generation Mercedes-AMG C63 will be a hybrid -- that's now a given."

Given how good the EQ Boost system feels in the new 53-series of AMG vehicles, it would stand to reason that a 63-variant would truly light your hair on fire with instant torque and (hopefully) that famously thunderous AMG growl.

The C63 AMG will smoke tires, drink gas and kick sand in your face

See all photos