Mercedes is convinced that it can make ‘very emotional’ electric sports cars

Enthusiasts claim that emotional electric sports cars are an oxymoron. Even if an EV has a stronger technical specifications sheet from top to bottom, traditionalists still prefer the old performance formula. Through his AMG division, Mercedes claims that the tens of know-how with gas cars can transfer to pure electric vehicles.

In one of his last interviews such as AMG CEO before he came to the Board of Management for production and quality, Michael Schiebe told Australian Magazine What Why we should be enthusiastic about hot EVs. Engineers from the AMG combustion team are now working on Performance EVs. Although the ice has disappeared with great displacement, experts from the music industry have been hired as sound technicians to replicate the V-8 soundtrack.

The departing AMG chef is convinced that skeptics will also learn to appreciate simulated gears. Schiebe instructed his team to lead the AMG.EA platform team to develop “the best electric V-8 on the market” and to imitate that special mechanical bond between driver and gas car:

“We must also ensure that it is ‘very emotional’, so that when you get in the car, and although it is an EV, you get your feedback from the car, because that is where our customers love their cars.”

Yet AMG knows that not everyone will convince, especially after the return on the C63 that loses its V-8 in favor of a four-cylinder, 2.0-liter plug-in hybrid. To appease loyalists, a completely new engine motor with eight cylinders is developing with more power and better fuel efficiency than the long -term “M178”. It will also meet the upcoming Euro 7 standard, making it EU friendly. However, the C63 does not have it, but a six -cylinder engine is becoming increasingly possible.

Earlier this year Schiebe told Engine The new V-8, which owes in 2027, remains available “as long as people want it.” However, he warned about a ‘natural end’ in Europe, because the rules of stricter emission rules lead to the ban of 2035 on the sale of new cars with combustion engines. In other regions, however, the engine will live well into the next decade.

While electric AMGs such as the production-ready GT XX concept target customers are open to performance EVs, V-8-Loyalists still have something to look forward to. Since Affalterbach does not go all-in electrification, enthusiasts still have reason for hope. Mercedes is large enough to manage both gas and electric sports cars, so that a strong future is obtained.

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Source: Mercedes-AMG

It is unrealistic to expect that AMG, BMW M and Audi Sport will put all their eggs in the ice basket. Sooner or later, supervisors will effectively ban large travel engines. What then? That shift is already indirectly going on in parts of Europe, where cars with large engines are confronted with steep taxes. This explains why car manufacturers continue to invest in performance plug-in hybrids.

To give a striking example, a BMW M5 is about € 10,000 (almost $ 12,000) cheaper than an M3 in Ireland. Why? The latter falls into a higher tax bracket because of its non-electrified powertrain. It is no wonder that the next M3 that will arrive in 2028 will reportedly use a mild-hybrid inline-six. In the meantime, the RS models from Audi will receive a plug-in hybrid setup.