The biturbocharged AMG V12 engine is the stuff of legends. It’s six liters of forced-induction greatness producing 621 horsepower and an insane 738 pound-feet of torque. It’s mental.
Khodrocar - However, for as amazing as the engine is, it won’t be around forever. In an interview with Car and Driver, AMG CEO Tobia Moers said, "Eventually, the 12-cylinder engine will be phased out at AMG.” That sentence is a dagger to the heart.
Moers added, "at the top of our lineup, we will follow another path.” Apparently, that means future AMG models will run on our broken hopes and dreams. However, Car and Driver predicts the top-end AMG engine could be a hybridized version of AMG’s biturbo 4.0-liter V8, predicting the mill could produce as much as 800 hp or more.
Thankfully, the changeover to hybrid V8s won’t be instantaneous. Currently, the V12 AMG engine resides in the S65, SL65, and G65. However, when the SL is redesigned for the next generation, the V12 will be gone. The S65 will still use the engine until it is also redesigned.
What's interesting with the G65, however, is that while the automaker is slowing winding down production, there isn't a next-gen G65 announced just yet. Hopefully, there is a new G65 that will carry the V12 engine until the next major redesign 30 years from now. Fingers crossed.
The V12 engine, internally known as M279, won’t disappear entirely from other Mercedes sub-brands. AMG will continue to build the engine for the other sub-brands, which includes the Mercedes-Maybach models. In that application, it produces the same 621 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque.
"We will continue to build the engine for other sub-brands,” Moers told the publication.
Yes, it’s sad that one of the greatest engines available today will soon get the ax from a great performance brand, but at least the engine isn’t disappearing completely. It’ll just be tuned for ultra-luxury quietness and refinement of a Maybach – not for the brawny rumbles of an AMG.
Moers added, "at the top of our lineup, we will follow another path.” Apparently, that means future AMG models will run on our broken hopes and dreams. However, Car and Driver predicts the top-end AMG engine could be a hybridized version of AMG’s biturbo 4.0-liter V8, predicting the mill could produce as much as 800 hp or more.
Thankfully, the changeover to hybrid V8s won’t be instantaneous. Currently, the V12 AMG engine resides in the S65, SL65, and G65. However, when the SL is redesigned for the next generation, the V12 will be gone. The S65 will still use the engine until it is also redesigned.
What's interesting with the G65, however, is that while the automaker is slowing winding down production, there isn't a next-gen G65 announced just yet. Hopefully, there is a new G65 that will carry the V12 engine until the next major redesign 30 years from now. Fingers crossed.
The V12 engine, internally known as M279, won’t disappear entirely from other Mercedes sub-brands. AMG will continue to build the engine for the other sub-brands, which includes the Mercedes-Maybach models. In that application, it produces the same 621 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque.
"We will continue to build the engine for other sub-brands,” Moers told the publication.
Yes, it’s sad that one of the greatest engines available today will soon get the ax from a great performance brand, but at least the engine isn’t disappearing completely. It’ll just be tuned for ultra-luxury quietness and refinement of a Maybach – not for the brawny rumbles of an AMG.
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