Could plasma tech help prolong AMG's 'last V8'?
Incoming mild-hybrid, flat-plane V8 might end up needing some serious aero wizardry to buy it more time...
Mercedes-AMG has confirmed that a 4.0-litre unit is destined to return in a revitalised C63, as a flat-plane, mild-hybrid V8. Speaking to PH at the Nardo Technical Centre earlier this week, Felix Siggemann, exec manager for comms, suggested that the motor would effectively be all-new thanks to its new configurations and the use of 48-volt electrification. Clearly, we can expect it to sound different too, and - crucially for Euro 7 regs - lower its emissions to the point of saintliness.
“The V8 could be the last V8 we ever make, so we want to make sure it’s future-proofed to live through the evolutions of Euro 7,” he said, referring to the forthcoming emissions standard, which will come into force in November 2026, just over eight years before the bloc’s ban on new petrol and diesel car sales takes effect. “We want to make sure [the engine’s] got a long development curve. So when it launches, it won’t be much more powerful than what came before.”
While that suggests the new motor won’t dramatically exceed the 510hp peak of the old twin-turbo V8 that powered the previous C63 - and which bowed out of production in 2022 - it ought to still feel that bit more muscular. AMG’s decision to switch to a flat-plane crankshaft was driven by the necessary introduction of mild-hybrid technology, which not only helps to cut CO2, but also offsets the natural loss of low-down muscle caused by the switch from the cross-plane layout of its predecessors.
With the mild-hybrid 48-volt setup there to boost the lower rev torque, the new 4.0-litre motor can take advantage of the higher-revving nature of its flat-plane crank, meaning it should have a peak power output at higher revs than the old V8’s 6,250rpm. It ought to make for a more elastic delivery, with a higher-pitched tone to boot - and one that needs far less synthesised assistance than the 680hp four-cylinder hybrid C 63 S E Performance…
“The general development goal [for the new V8] is to comply with Euro 7 and have enough of a performance buffer to keep evolving it, while staying with the 4.0-litre architecture,” reckoned Siggemann. That suggests AMG expects to keep the V8 going for several life cycles after its anticipated 2026 launch - but for it to do that, the new engine will likely need additional bolstering along the way as the regulatory noose tightens.
Among the new innovations that might assist its long-term plans is the new plasma actuator aerodynamic technology being developed by AMG to make its performance cars more slippery through the air. Never before fitted to a full-size car in a wind tunnel, let alone the road, the plasma actuators are compact devices that sit below aerodynamically important regions of bodywork, influencing airflow by ionising (i.e. electronically charging) the air and forcing the flow to change speed and direction, like an invisible fan blowing perpendicular into the wind.
Speaking to PH at the recent AMG GT XX event, brand aerodynamic engineer Philipp Dorr noted that his team’s technology wasn’t used on AMG’s record-breaking concept car because “the effects are limited above 200kph [124mph]”. But these hidden devices and their invisible influences on airflow are particularly useful at road car speeds, meaning body shapes that prioritise practicality or aesthetics can be made more aerodynamically efficient at the touch of a button.
“Best of all, the actuators are not massively energy demanding, with just 50 to 150 watts needed to power one metre of actuator-influenced airflow,” said Dorr, while demonstrating the effects on a model rear wing. “They allow designers to get the shape of the car they want, even if it’s not as aerodynamically efficient as it needs to be.”
Not surprisingly, plasma actuator tech is being developed by AMG with electric cars in mind. But as the 1,000kW-capable GT XX and its five-minute charge time show, EVs might not need the full attention of aerodynamicists for much longer. Conversely, in a world where combustion-powered restrictions are likely to ramp up before the end, it may well prove that for cars like the incoming C63, such technology ends up being essential.
ting of gobstes. The gains are made on the millions of s
tboxes that are used more and last longer not the few V8s. Downsizing to V6s was never anything more than green washing to appease thugs while being too scared to think straight, revealing their unsuitability for their place in the board. F1 can take a slug of the blame for the market being awash with budget V6s instead of V8s.
All these companies need to do is keep cleaning up their millions of s
tboxes and stop seeing their halo cars as tools to trick idiots into renting a stbox with a bodykit but see them as the halo cars that protect your brand from the intelligent people deciding you're a bunch of losers not to be associated with. 10 years to go in several key markets. Just sell V8s and go out in style not a whimper of pisspot little shadows of what they're trying to be.
It's not going to impact fleet emissions but will impact what people think of your brand after.
ting of gobstes. The gains are made on the millions of s
tboxes that are used more and last longer not the few V8s. Downsizing to V6s was never anything more than green washing to appease thugs while being too scared to think straight, revealing their unsuitability for their place in the board. F1 can take a slug of the blame for the market being awash with budget V6s instead of V8s.
All these companies need to do is keep cleaning up their millions of s
tboxes and stop seeing their halo cars as tools to trick idiots into renting a stbox with a bodykit but see them as the halo cars that protect your brand from the intelligent people deciding you're a bunch of losers not to be associated with. 10 years to go in several key markets. Just sell V8s and go out in style not a whimper of pisspot little shadows of what they're trying to be.
It's not going to impact fleet emissions but will impact what people think of your brand after.
The 4 pot C63 looks to have been a very silly boardroom failure does it not? Did they not learn from seeing VW's attempt to put a 4 pot in the Boxster? Selling a handful of V8s doesn't stand in the way of switching everything to EV but not doing so does risk devaluing the brand.
It reminds me of Jason Cammisa's comments towards the end of this, that they've managed to make the flat-plane ZR1 sound like a V8 Ferrari, rather than a Corvette. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StWSpZHF998
If it's the emissions thing then fair play, but cynic in me sees the introduction of flat-plane V8s as a marketing tool. In the collective blob's mind 180° is fancy & exotic (F1, Ferrari, etc) and 90° is not (your old Chevy sedan or Ford pickup) - QED X-plane *must* be better...
With the virtual gear stuff from Hyundai, that you could all turn off if you have a hangover, sleeping babe in the car, etc.
I like to think of myself as a relatively red blooded man, but does there come a point where these engines become so characterless that a simulacrum of the real deal is preferable? Range and charging times notwithstanding, of course.
I wish any and every European carmaker luck at the moment and it’ll be better than their current 4, but if it sounds like the aforementioned Black Series then not by much and am interested to see many agree.
Off topic, are we getting anywhere with E fuels and after 2035 low-volume manufactures can still sell things with an engine, yes? Could Black Series be spun off as a separate brand and thereby still build low-run V8s?
Also, since the US, Japan, and other places less hellbent on undeliverable virtue signalling resulting in higher expense and less freedom for the motorist, do not have these bans coming in, and presumably European manufacturers will still make cars with engines for these markets albeit presumably with a smaller range of choices, would it be possible to buy a (say) 2037 V8 AMG from Japan or the USA and register it as a secondhand car in the UK?
With the virtual gear stuff from Hyundai, that you could all turn off if you have a hangover, sleeping babe in the car, etc.
I like to think of myself as a relatively red blooded man, but does there come a point where these engines become so characterless that a simulacrum of the real deal is preferable? Range and charging times notwithstanding, of course.
I wish any and every European carmaker luck at the moment and it’ll be better than their current 4, but if it sounds like the aforementioned Black Series then not by much and am interested to see many agree.
I feel for manufacturers trying to carve out some uniqueness with all these restrictions.
It reminds me of Jason Cammisa's comments towards the end of this, that they've managed to make the flat-plane ZR1 sound like a V8 Ferrari, rather than a Corvette. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StWSpZHF998
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