Can anybody tell me......

[Doxster]

the differences between the various 6.3 litre engines in the mercedes range?

I note the story today on the new S63 which states it has an output of 518bhp. The C63 has an output of 457bhp IIRC, why is this? Is the 'C' engine fundamentally different from that in the 'S' or is it artificially detuned via its electronics in order to maintain the model hierachy?

If its essentilly the same engine I presume it would be easy to 'tune' the C63 powerplant to S63 outputs?

The reason I am asking is that I'm currently strongly fighting the urge to splasl out on a C after having a taste of big capacity V8 in Oz

Thanks in advance

[r129sl]

Mercedes claims that the difference is down to different exhaust pipes, that of the C being more constricted. Maybe that accounts for some of the difference but most will be artificial.

Mercedes is quite cynical about this. A good example is the difference between the 280 and 320 CDI engines: there isn't one. They are physically identical and differ only in their software. Why anyone would pay about £1,800 more for the 320 variant is beyond me. BMW are the same: their 118d, 318d, 120d and 320d all have physically identical motors.

You may find the 6.2litre V8 in the 63 AMG models to be quite different in character from the big bore V8s you were driving down under. These motors are screamers in comparison, developing lower than expected torque outputs very high in the rev range.