Changing Of The Guard

The tide is turning in the world of performance sedans

A NEW ERA of performance sedans is about to begin, with the three German powerhouses of Mercedes- AMG, Audi RS, and BMW M moving into the full-electric segment, and using hybrid power to offset dwindling cylinder counts.

AMG is a perfect encapsulation n of this inevitable change. Previously a key accelerator of the power war rs amongst the German manufacturers (and the remaining V8 hold-out In the mid-size performance sedan segment), the in-house tuners for Mercedes-Benz are about to ditch one of its most popular engines and also build its first performance EV.

Speaking to US outlet Car & Driver, the head engineer for the new C-Class, Christian Früh, said the entire family of models will be powered by four-cylinder engine es exclusively. Yes, even those with AMG badges on the boot. That means no more 4.0-litre twin-turbo M177 powerhouse. Instead, a potent four-cylinder engine will be paired with a battery pack for combined total system outputs in excess of 372kW at the apex of the range. For reference, the current-gen C63 S is rated at 375kW/700Nm. It is unclear what this shift means for the future of the M177/178 in other AMG products.