so the AMG C63S E-Performance is on sale in US after all …
despite still being listed under “future vehicles” on MB site the actual cars show up on Autotrader listings for local dealerships …
pricing is reasonable as well since the reviews were abysmal and nobody is buying these cars so dealers are forced to cut err deals.
however even without driving one i agree with both Autogefuhl and Throttle House that this is a failed physics experiment … mainly for the same reason why Tesla is
namely they blew so much money on getting almost 700 hp from 4 cylinders that they had nothing left for suspension and as a result they are selling $100,000 car with steel spring suspension and no active roll bars, which is frankly a joke.
so why did they do it ? some speculate AMG realized their mistake and will go back to a V8 in the C63 … I DON’T FUCKING THINK SO !
they made this “mistake” on purpose !
and the reason is simple …
while C63, E63 and S63 all get hybrid systems with similar performance they get 4, 6 and 8 cylinders respectively.
because performance is absolute but prestige is subjective.
AMG knew they had to match BMW performance but they could get to the same 3 second 0-60 with 4, 6 or 8 cylinders so they decided they will put 4 cylinders in C class, 6 in E class and 8 in S class and all the other S level cars like AMG GT and so on.
so no, AMG didn’t make a “mistake” when they put 4 cylinders in C63 - it was a deliberate decision to punish the customer for not stepping up to E63 or better yet S63.
they punish the customer but do so without losing face because C63 still holds its own against M3 Competition both in straight line and on the track, despite having only 4 cylinders ( to M3’s 6 )
and when the next E63 arrives ( next year ) it will hold its own against M5 despite having 6 cylinders ( to M5’s 8 )
the S63 got the full 8 cylinders because if you’re buying S class you’re a baller and ballers don’t get punished.
how can they get same performance from 4, 6 or 8 cylinders you ask ?
because there are three level of turbo tech ( in mercedes line up )
1 - regular turbo ( all V8 models )
2 - regular turbo compounded with electric supercharger ( inline-6 engine in S500 )
3 - full electric turbo ( 4 cylinder in C63 )
so you can see you can get same performance from 4, 6 or 8 cylinders depending on how electrified the boost is. with no electrification you need 8 cyl. with some electrification you need 6. with full electric turbo you can have 3.0 sec 0-60 with 4 cylinders.
of course a 4 cyl will not have the sound or smoothness of a 6 or 8 cyl, but, as far as AMG is concerned, you don’t deserve those things in a C class. all you deserve is to match BMW M3’s performance because Mercedes cannot allow BMW to win.
smaller engines allow Mercedes to get better fuel economy ( good for sucking Klaus Schwab cock ) but also keep the weight down, which is important for already overweight cars like C63.
so the strategy makes perfect sense.
people just can’t adjust to the fact that we live in a Brave New Klaus Schwab world where you have to pay more and get less and they blame this on AMG when it’s really just inflation and WEF green agenda.
when AMG was asked why they put 4 cyl in C63 and if it was to comply with Klaus Schwab demands they honestly said no it wasn’t, because we still have V8 in S63 etc.
indeed they could have still put V8 in every '63 AMG but then what would be the incentive to buy E63 over C63 and S63 over E63 ?
ZEE Germans are smart. they know exactly what they’re doing. if you’re waiting for them to put a V8 back into C63 you are overdosed on hopium and will be waiting a long time.
they don’t care that C63 sales are down. Mercedes doesn’t make money on cars like C63, and neither does BMW make money on M3. the job of those cars is to showcase tech, and in that respect C63 beats BMW M3 even if it loses in sales.
the real job of C63 is to boost sales of E63, both current V8 and upcoming I-6 PHEV.