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It seems the market has spoken, with Mercedes-AMG set to reverse its decision to downsize its hero C63’s engine to a hybrid four-cylinder.
Reports from the UK say the 2026 Mercedes-AMG C63 will ditch the plug-in hybrid four in favour of two extra cylinders, with a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine as part of a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
According to Autocar, AMG confirmed the move would apply to the facelifted C63 as well as the GLC 63 medium SUV.
The six-cylinder PHEV set-up will be derived from that of the E53 and GLE 53, with AMG sources reportedly saying it wouldn’t make sense to customers if the brand offered a four-cylinder ‘63’ offered when the lower-numbered ‘53’ comes with a six-cylinder.
The CLE 63 Coupé and Cabriolet will, according to Autocar, be fitted with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, specifically a flat-plane-crank version of AMG’s M177 used in models like the last-gen C63 since the mid-2010s.
The current C-Class, including the C63, was designed with four- and six-cylinder engines in mind, and would reportedly require an expensive redesign in terms of the engine bay and structure to accommodate a V8.
The inline-six borrowed from the E53 is expected to produce more than 480kW and 880Nm, though both fall decidedly short of the 500kW and 1020Nm total outputs from the current C63 E Performance’s high-output four-cylinder M139 engine and electric motor.
Autocar says the new system with the six-cylinder will do away with the electric motor mounted to the rear axle and instead use a motor between the engine and transmission.
While reports of the four-cylinder being axed aren’t exactly surprising given tepid customer response to the halved cylinder-count for the new C63, where AMG would take the drivetrain was seemingly up in the air.
Reports at one stage, as late as this year, had AMG bringing back a V8 and saying the M177 would slot into the new engine bay with minor tweaks.
In terms of optics, at least the updated C63 will have the same cylinder count as its arch-nemesis: the BMW M3.
