‘I’m not convinced Mercedes-AMG can fill the V8 void in its EVs’

Anyone with even a remote affinity for cars knows AMG. And what they know AMG for by and large, is infusing stately Mercedes-Benz models with bluster, charisma and attitude usually via a hot-rodded eight-cylinder engine, a trumpeting quad-tipped exhaust, big wheels shod in fat tyres and a propensity for smokey oversteer. It’s this air of mischief to AMG that proved so infectious, that cultivated the vast horde of dedicated fans who are now so protective of what they see as a proper AMG persona in this ominous new era of electrification.

Of course this slightly yobbish one-dimensional impression of Mercedes-AMG has been a little outdated for over a decade now. AMG has gotten more sophisticated, becoming a proper manufacturer in its own right of genuine sports cars, GT cars and super saloons to face off at every dynamic and technical level (not just in terms of straight-line performance) their equivalents from Porsche, BMW M and Audi Sport. But until very recently they still had that effervescent AMG soul – the sense that there’s just a bit too much engine and associated noise and punch stuffed within than should be allowed. 

The frosty critical reception to and subsequent poor sales performance of the latest C63 E-Performance and its technically very impressive hybridised four-cylinder powertrain proved beyond all doubt that big numbers alone do not a ‘proper’ AMG make, at least in the eyes of the AMG faithful.

That brings me onto what’s next for AMG because while it’s now well-known that the V8 is being re-engineered for continued use across a select few models in the Mercedes-AMG range, the flagship Mercedes-AMG supersaloon, the next AMG GT 4-door arriving next year, will not just forego a V8 but internal combustion power altogether. 

In its place an incredibly advanced electrical platform (the imaginatively-named Mercedes-AMG Electrical Architecture) comprised of new-generation, fast-charging, high-endurance batteries and an array of compact, lightweight, incredibly power- and torque-dense axial-flux electric motors. Developed by British firm Yasa, they're of a very similar type to those first seen in the Ferrari SF90 and Lamborghini Revuelto hybrid supercars but the Mercedes will be the first full EV to utilise them.

> Mercedes is building a new AMG GT 4-Door, but it won’t have a V8 – or a petrol engine at all

Far from being shy and retiring about how the first pistonless full Mercedes-AMG will appeal to the AMG old guard, they were bullish in their reassurances that this mechanically near-silent super saloon will match or exceed, the emotional resonance of its old multi-cylindered ancestors, assuring us that ‘the heart of an AMG has always been and will always be the motor’. Punchy talk that far from being stray shot in the press release for the Concept AMG GT XX, kept coming up throughout the concept’s reveal event. Whether in keynote speeches or in interviews, Markus Schäfer, Chief Technology officer and Michael Schiebe, Mercedes-AMG CEO, doubled down. AMG EA and the AMG GT 4-door it is to underpin, will thrill like a proper AMG:

‘At AMG we know that it’s always been about our powerhouse. The engine is the beating heart of every car from Affalterbach and we want to keep that heart pumping. Whether it’s a combustion engine, hybrid or electric drivetrain. Our V8s are legendary and our EVs need to be forged from exactly the same DNA. In fact, they don’t just need to be equal, they need to be even better.’ Schiebe said in his keynote address.

The trouble is, at almost every juncture when asked how this new car will manage this, the answer too often was raw performance. The Concept GT XX is kitted out with three of the above-mentioned Yasa axial flux motors and a very real 1341bhp. Horsepower (and torque), the thing that all high-performance EVs can deliver, to the point of sometimes being unpleasantly accelerative. Granted, it was a novelty in the mid-2000s, when AMG grabbed headlines with its 787lb ft V12 S-classes. But raw performance cannot be relied upon now for distinction.

Endurance, repeatable performance? That would be novel in an EV. Thanks to the new battery design and comprehensive cooling system, AMG EAis claimed to be able to deliver consistent power and performance that does not fade like in some other electric cars. It is in the words of Markus Schafer, ‘Autobahn proven’ – good for 200mph runs between Hamburg and Munich, then charging right away at over 800kW (provided there’s a strong enough charger to feed it), before heading out to deliver that performance continuously once again. Schiebe called it ‘a marathon sprinter on steroids, with bionic legs’.

The production AMG GT 4-door is sure to get the full suite of technology thrown at it to lend it the agility, handling and balance you’d expect, for it to effectively succeed the current car. The rear-motors are independently controllable for torque vectoring purposes, as is the front motor via a limited-slip diff. It’s sure to get the latest adaptive damping and anti-roll technology, perhaps rear-wheel-steering. But however fast and capable it may be, how will it translate the heart and soul of the beloved old AMG V8s and V12s from analogue, to digital?

We know the production car will be getting a loudspeaker system in its headlights for broadcasting synthesized noises, whether for superficial or safety reasons. But other than this the closest we got to an answer was from Schafer. He alluded to but didn’t confirm or clarify features that replicate the kinds of sensory stimuli and points of interaction we so miss from internal combustion powertrains, even potentially, Hyundai-style virtual gears:

‘Bringing hardcore V8 fans to an electric vehicle is something that is a challenge and current pure electric cars don't do the job. So how does the car feel in terms of noise, in terms of sound, in terms of vibrations, the gear shift? It has to touch the emotional side. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t do the job. That’s exactly what you should expect from this car. I would say you can expect everything we have today in the V8 and V12. This is exactly what we transfer piece by piece.’

Schafer also insisted that existing ‘hardcore V8 customers’ had experienced the car and come away excited, but did finally concede that what’s coming won’t convert everyone, which is why Mercedes-AMG is continuing its ICE development in parallel with its flagship AMG EA-powered cars:

‘We had some test drives with hardcore V8 customers in this car and we haven’t seen so many people coming out of the car with such a smile on their face and excitement, saying ‘oh my god, there’s something significant happening now’. 

‘Will we capture everyone that’s on the V12 and V8 side? Probably not. That’s why we’re updating and electrifying our V8 with brand new fantastic technology. Over time we will catch way more people than before. We’re working on both pillars, modernising V8s, working on the V6s as well as intensifying our work on the electric side.’

We left Affalterbach (or ‘Affasterbach’ as AMG renamed it for this reveal event) with more questions than answers – perhaps we could have predicted as much when Schiebe rounded out his keynote introduction, saying: ‘You buy an AMG because it makes your heart race, because it puts a smile on your face, because it gives you goosebumps. We call that the AMG feeling and that’s where the electric AMG will also deliver. How exactly? I think we’ll talk about that when we’re a little bit closer to the series production car.’

As it stands, I believe them that the electric AMG will be incredibly advanced and innovative, consistently performant, impressive and in ways exciting to drive. I don’t yet believe that it will hit all the emotional beats the rumbling old hot rods used to bludgeon with ease.