Mercedes-AMG E 63 S next generation to give up TTV8 for inline-6 PHEV

The sports sedan wars will carry on when Affalterbach puts its newest artillery piece on the battleground, the next-generation Mercedes-AMG E 63 S. The E 63 S is no longer on sale here, having taken its toys like the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 posting 604 horsepower and 626 pound-feet of torque and gone home. Autocar says the coming version of the mighty midsizer will give up the V8 for an inline-six-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain similar to the four cylinder PHEV powertrain in the latest C 63 S E Performance and the eight-cylinder PHEV powertrain in the AMG GT 63 S E Performance. According to Autocar’s sources inside AMG, the vital targets are more than 700 horsepower and 884 pound-feet of torque. Hitting these numbers would give the E at least 29 more horses and 132 more pound-feet than in the C 63.

In the Mercedes, the single-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six heart would be a tweaked version of the engine already employed elsewhere in the E-Class range like the standard E 450 4Matic and the mid-rank AMG 53 4Matic. Like those other hybrids, the new AMG E would be all-wheel drive, the six-pot sending its power to both axles through a nine-speed automatic and limited-slip differential, an electric motor on the rear axle providing an additional 200 horsepower or so. 

The four-door would also offer four-wheel steering, a new development for the E-Class, and carry a 4.8-kWh battery under the trunk capable of short stints of all-electric driving. Four levels of brake regen would pair with seven driving modes in the AMG Dynamic Select menu: Electric, Battery Hold, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Slippery, and Individual. 

As for the AMG E’s Public Enemy Number 1, Autocar believes the next-gen BMW M5 will sport a retuned version of the hybrid system in the coming BMW XM Red Label. Whereas the BMW SUV is billed as making 735 horsepower and 735 pound-feet of torque, Autocar says the coming M5 could make around 790 hp and 737 lb-ft. On top of that, while the AMG E is thought to get a single-digit pure EV range like the current C 63 and AMG-GT 63, the coming BMW M5 hybrid might get a much larger EV driving range thanks to a larger battery pack. The current M5 makes 600 hp and 553 lb-ft.

A next-gen Mercedes-AMG E 53 variant is predicted to get around 510 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 81 hp and 169 pound-feet over the current AMG E 53. The new E, the last with an internal combustion engine, is anticipated in time for the 2024 model year.