AMG showed off a near-production prototype of the barely covered C63 earlier this year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and is now set to unveil the sports sedan. There’s little we don’t know about the BMW M3 rival, though we’re curious how those interesting tech specs will translate to real-world performance. Unlike its rear-wheel-drive predecessor, the next generation will be sold exclusively with 4Matic.
Addressing the elephant in the room, the V8 is officially a thing of the past. Affalterbach’s homies have said many times that the new C63 will adopt the 2.0-liter M139 from the “45” models but with more power and mounted longitudinally. A rear-mounted electric motor will draw its necessary juice from a 6.1kWh battery, and yes, the car will be a plug-in hybrid.
seven Pictures
Halving the number of cylinders will no doubt bother purists, but with a combined output of 670bhp, the flagship C-Class should be fast enough. Hopefully the reveal will also include the C63 Estate, a hot wagon that will do battle with a new competitor – the M3 Touring. By the way, the new M cars planned from 2023 will also be plug-in hybrids. However, the Bavarians have no plans to downsize their combustion engines, promising to stick with straight-sixes and V8s until at least 2030.
The AMG C63 should offer purely electric range given its PHEV configuration, but given the small battery size, the combustion engine will start sooner rather than later. Weight is a concern considering that even though the four-cylinder engine is a lot lighter than the old V8, all the hybrid-related stuff is sure to add fat and we won’t be too surprised if it ends up be considerably heavier than its predecessor. .
The world premiere is scheduled for Wednesday, September 21. AMG won’t launch another C63 coupe and convertible as the two-door C-Class and E-Class models will merge to become the CLE.
