Next AMG V8 will be smaller
A senior Mercedes board member has confirmed that AMG's mighty 6.2-litre V8 is not long for this world.
Speaking with US magazine Edmunds, Daimler board member Dr Thomas Weber said that AMG will begin to replace its current naturally aspirated 6208cc V8 next year with a more fuel-efficient 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8.
That's likely to be the engine that's headed for the 911-rivallng 'baby' SLS that AMG engineers told PH's Chris-R about back in November. This means that it should get direct-injection and cylinder cut-off technology to help maximise the engine's efficiency.
Although the German horsepower war of recent years is now well and truly over, AMG isn't going to skimp on power. No figures have been revealed but expect an output, like today's engine, in the range of 500bhp-550bhp depending on the application.
Weber also told Edmunds that the ageing 383bhp V8 from the E500 (the only petrol engine that survives from the previous-generation E-class) will be phased out, to be replaced by a smaller-capacity turbocharged unit. Expect the new engines to make their debuts at the Paris show in September 2010.
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